Letter Of The Day: "Voting Rights Amendment"

I've got a letter for you today which is quite appropriate for this holiday. In the letter to the Sacramento Bee Leo Farr of Sacramento proposes another constitutional amendment, this time one which is necessary:

Re "Our flag and our freedom," commentary, June 17: Republicans propose two new amendments to the Constitution. One is about the flag and one is about marriage. Both are for the purpose of embarrassing the Democrats. Both subjects are unmentioned in the Constitution or in its amendments.

Four amendments to the Constitution are about voting -- 15, 19, 24 and 26. Seriously, we need another amendment on voting worded, as I would like it to be, as follows:

Section 1. The vote of the citizens of the United States for any national office or for any primary of such office shall be done in such a way as to provide an accurate count of the vote, as to provide a uniform method to resolve disputes and for a printed record of the vote to be accessible to all interested parties.

Section 2. Qualifications for the right to vote shall be uniform in all states for the above-mentioned elections.

Section 3. In each state, a civil service officer shall be appointed to administer the election procedure.

Republicans will fiercely resist any such amendment. It should be proposed anyway. It would be very entertaining to hear them on the floor of Congress explain why they are opposed.