Voters Want Uniform Elections

That would have been a rather safe assumption to make without an opinion poll, but the Washington Post took one anyway of 807 adults selected at random around the country.

It found that among those sampled, a majority want:

• A major overhaul of election rules, to create a procedure for electing the president and vice president that works the same anywhere in the United States.

• Identical poll-closing time in all states, so announcements of results in the East could not affect those in the West, where polls are still open.

• Standardized ballots that are easy to read, simple to use, foolproof to tabulate.

• No more "butterfly" ballots.

• No more punch-card ballots with dimpled, hanging or virgin chads.

• Federal authority over state and county governments to set the standards for and select a single voting machine for use nationwide.

• Consistent rules for when and how to conduct recounts.

• Amendment of the United States Constitution to replace the Electoral College with direct election by popular vote.