If you can't win an election outright, change the system

Saxby Chambliss must be worried about keeping the Senate seat he stole from Max Cleland in 2002. Here is what happened:

There was absolutely nothing pointing to a Chambliss win at that time:

USA Today reported on Nov. 3, 2002, "In Georgia, an Atlanta
Journal-Constitution poll shows Democratic Sen. Max Cleland with a
49%-to-44% lead over Republican Rep. Saxby Chambliss." Cox News Service,
based in Atlanta, reported just after the election (Nov. 7) that, "Pollsters
may have goofed" because "Republican Rep. Saxby Chambliss defeated incumbent
Democratic Sen. Max Cleland by a margin of 53 to 46 percent. The Hotline, a
political news service, recalled a series of polls Wednesday showing that
Chambliss had been ahead in none of them."

Just as amazing was the 2002 Georgia governor's race. "Similarly," the
Zogby polling organization reported on Nov. 7, "no polls predicted the upset
victory in Georgia of Republican Sonny Perdue over incumbent Democratic Gov.
Roy Barnes. Perdue won by a margin of 52 to 45 percent. The most recent
Mason Dixon Poll had shown Barnes ahead 48 to 39 percent last month with a
margin of error of plus or minus 4 points."

Almost all of the votes in Georgia were recorded on the new touch-screen
computerized voting machines, which produced no paper trail whatsoever.
Similarly, as the San Jose Mercury News reported in a Jan. 23, 2003
editorial titled "Gee Whiz, Voter Fraud?" "In one Florida precinct last
November, votes that were intended for the Democratic candidate for governor
ended up for Gov. Jeb Bush, because of a misaligned touchscreen. How many
votes were miscast before the mistake was found will never be known, because
there was no paper audit." ("Misaligned" touchscreens also caused 18 known
machines in Dallas to register Republican votes when Democratic
screen-buttons were pushed in 2002: it's unknown how many others weren't
noticed.)

But now, with a runoff looming, Saxby Chambliss, an incumbent who couldn't get to 50% in one of the few states that went for John McCain, wants to change the rules to benefit his own incumbency:

Republican lawmakers are considering proposals for next year's legislative session that would shorten Georgia's early voting season and make it more difficult for close elections to reach a runoff.

State Rep. Austin Scott said he expects legislators to discuss tightening runoff guidelines in the wake of the surprising showing by Democrat Jim Martin that forced a Dec. 2 showdown with Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss. He also said he was considering whether to draft a measure that would shorten Georgia's 45-day advance voting period.

"Most people think it was stretched out too far," said Scott, a Tifton Republican who chairs the House committee charged with drafting electoral policy. "Maybe two weeks would be long enough."

Early voting began this year on Sept. 22 and expanded to more sites a week before the November election. More than 2 million people voted during the period, and some waited in lines as long as eight hours.

Secretary of State Karen Handel, a Republican, said the long lines proved that "voters like the flexibility of having these options" but also said a thorough conversation is needed before deciding whether to revive the policy.

Her predecessor Cathy Cox, a Democrat, has said the popularity was a sign that elections officials should devote more resources toward early voting.

Scott said the six-week advance period could also expose the system to more voter fraud, and he said legislators could limit potential abuse by tightening early voting.

"The two goals of the election are access and integrity," he said. "And reaching that balance is sometimes easier said than done."

Republicans could also overhaul election rules that now require a runoff if none of the candidates earn more than 50 percent of the vote.

Scott and a slew of House Republican leaders unsuccessfully proposed lowering the bar to 45 percent last year, and he said the provision could resurface from legislators concerned about the mounting costs of runoffs.

Somehow I think that if Jim Martin had received 45% and was ahead, Chambliss would have no problem with the current system.