Obama Shows He's Serious About Fixing Our Screwed-Up Election System

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Whatever this panel may suggest could easily be disregarded by Congress, especially because they are likely to take a less confrontational tone than many Republicans who have talked up so-called voter fraud might prefer. However, it seems inexorable that advances in data management will be applied to the voting process, as they are everywhere else in society. And with that comes the promise of making voting more accurate, cost-effective and efficient—and easier and more inclusive. That is, if Congress wants to make voting that way.

(Full disclosure: In 2009-2010 the author worked with Pew and many of these state and local election directors to write a  report on voter registration modernization in which half these officials took part.)