ElectionDiary's Must-Read Meditation on (Im)perfection

[Image courtesy of myhapilife]

The latest entry at ElectionDiary from Brian Newby is as elegant a discussion of the concept of perfection in elections as you’ll ever read. It’s long (for a blog post) but well worth reading; here’s just a taste:

As an election administrator, I often say we’re in the zero defects business, much like banking, and anything less than perfection is unacceptable. One defect is unacceptable.

In fact, one of my least favorite phrases I hear in the industry is, “There’s no such thing as a perfect election.”

That statement actually is generally true. I just don’t like it.

Elections are dependent on many factors, especially human factors. We rely on many persons who are paid just enough to feel guilty for not showing up and we wear them down. Heck, we wear ourselves down.

But just because a human error is possible, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive for perfection.

There’s also a gorgeous analogy to Ash Wednesday and Lenten observance, a realistic assessment of the politics of voter fraud – and a staggeringly brazen act of double voting.

If I say anything more I’ll spoil it – go read it now.