Supreme Court and Ballot Reform

* Re “Court Responds to Values Rather Than Partisanship,” Commentary, Dec. 15: Erwin Chemerinsky failed to convince me that the Supreme Court is not political. The vote in Florida could have easily ended with Al Gore ahead by 500 votes, in which case I’m sure that George W. Bush would have gone down essentially the same path that Gore took.

If that had happened, I just can’t imagine the Supreme Court coming up with the same ruling, with the five most conservative justices voting to do no further recounts and the two Democrats essentially siding with Bush. It was political, not ideological.

SAM SHAFFER

Redondo Beach

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As rightly noted by Chemerinsky, the current debacle perpetrated by the Supreme Court underscores an even greater need for scrutiny of the values and visions of the judges selected for the highest courts.

I submit, however, that the need for this awareness begins at home. Since all politics are local and all judges begin somewhere, we must ask how many times we have blindly voted for county and state justices without knowing anything about them. Some even fail to submit personal statements.

I challenge secretaries of state, bar associations and news organizations everywhere to take seriously the responsibility to inform voters in detail of the records and leanings of the judges we are asked to give our votes to.

ALITTA KULLMAN

Laguna Hills

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Bush won this election fair and square. Gore, while publicly insisting he only wanted a fair count of all the votes, asked for a manual recount in only those counties most likely to benefit himself. The Supreme Court’s ruling simply shined the light on Gore’s hypocrisy. The Supreme Court was not practicing politics, it was doing its job.

DEAN COONRADT

Oxnard

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After reading the Scorecard (Dec. 14) that indicated that Bush spent $151 million ($3 per vote received) and Gore spent $100 million ($2 per vote received) on the campaign, I have determined a method for upgrading the nation’s outmoded voting system. Apply a surcharge for all campaign expenditures for the express purpose of replacing outmoded election equipment. If the counties of the nation can’t afford it, the candidates can!

PAUL S. WALLER

Woodland Hills

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Disenfranchised voters in Florida must be greatly comforted by Republican Gov. Jeb Bush’s announcement that he is appointing a special task force to study the mess that was Florida’s presidential election (Dec. 15). Seems to me that Bush’s task force is comparable to Nero creating a special commission on fire safety after Rome had already burned to the ground.

ROBERT JOHNSTON

Temple City

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Re Dawn Wellman’s Dec. 14 letter: I agree with many of Wellman’s comments except for the last one--to never vote again. I have watched with great interest as the election process took place, and I am pleased with the final outcome. However, I must admit that six months ago I felt that one of the biggest problems that this country faced was the choice we had for president. It is hard for me to believe that Bush and Gore were the best candidates that our two major parties could offer our country.

Despite my opinion of our choices, I have decided that I must become more involved in the political process. Each of us must make every effort to avoid a repeat of the situation we have just experienced. In order to do this, each of us must continue to vote in each and every election. Our votes will only count if we make them. Please, Ms. Wellman, do not stop voting!

WAYNE A. EVANS

Arcadia

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Caltech and MIT’s premature outright dismissal of optical scanners and punch cards as appropriate ballot technologies (Dec. 15) indicates to me that they may be ignoring an important system design rule--keep it simple, stupid. In any operation so potentially subject to fraud as voting monitored by political partisans, it is essential to be able to perform a physical audit of the vote, and paper or cardboard is a very cost-effective archiving medium. ATM methodology is fine for money; I need something even more secure to safeguard my freedom.

MICHAEL ERNSTOFF

Los Angeles