PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

Most of the questions about conducting fair and verifiable elections have swirled – again – around Broward County, which has an troubling history when it comes to running elections.

But, as a point of interest, as fairly minor issue has just emerged about the election in Oregon, which has tended to boast about a national reputation for fair process.

Given the continuing mess in Broward County, which dates back to the controversy over the razor-thin presidential election in the early 2000s involving George Bush and Al Gore, not to mention the current controversy over a U.S. Senate seat and the race for governor, I’d take one simple, straightforward action: Negate the entire election in Broward County.

Throw out the ballots, all of them. If you cannot trust the county to run a fair election, give election process managers the heave-ho. By extension, I admit this would take away the voting franchise for thousands of citizens, but better that than to allow a tainted election to stand.

It would be the right thing to do for at least two reasons. First, it would throw out the tainted election. Second, it might get the attention of local officials – especially if there would be new ones running future elections who need to make huge improvements to preserve voting rights for citizens – fair and accurate voting results.

I have no idea whether throwing out all the votes would help the Democrats or Republicans. Frankly, I don’t care because preserving election processes is a higher goal.

I was aghast the other day when some Democrats in Congress suggested that election problems in Broward County stemmed from the fact that Congress did not appropriate enough funds to help counties run elections. Say what?

If Congress tried to help counties in the U.S., no one could afford the cost.

And, what about all of the county officials around the country who rely on their wherewithal, as well as state dollars, to run elections fair and square?

Back to Oregon.   A sweeping Democratic victory on election day wasn’t enough to prevent a post-election headache for one of Oregon’s most powerful party operatives and her Portland lawyer.

Here’s the way the Oregonian wrote about the debacle. “Becca Uherbelau, executive director of Our Oregon, and Steve Ungar, the group’s counsel, have until Wednesday to explain to state regulators why they turned in nearly 100 ballots the day after the Nov. 6 election deadline. The Secretary of State’s Elections Division opened an investigation after it received a complaint from Tim Scott, director of the Multnomah County Elections Division.

“Uherbelau and Ungar turned in the box of ballots on Nov. 7, preventing them from being counted in the mid-term election.

“Defend Oregon, a political action committee affiliated with Our Oregon, apparently gathered the ballots in an aggressive and legal get-out-the-vote effort. Canvassers went door to door asking residents if they needed or wanted assistance delivering their ballots.

“Scott said in his letter to the state that Defend Oregon handed in other boxes of ballots in time to be counted. The one box had apparently been overlooked until Wednesday.

“Defend Oregon apologized in a written statement. ‘We take voting and the right to vote very seriously at Defend Oregon, and so we were disheartened to learn that late on Election Day campaign staff failed to follow established ballot collection protocol,” the organization said. “When Defend Oregon learned of the mistake the next day, we immediately turned the ballots in to officials at the Multnomah County Elections office. We are deeply sorry for this mistake and breach of trust.’”

Reasonable people – I am one, by the way – can understand how it would be possible for operatives Oregon to misplace a box of returns and deliver them late.  Simple human error and, after all, ”only” 100 ballots were delivered late.

What cannot be understood is how Broward County can continue to flout election law. I say out throw out all the ballots there and appoint new officials to oversee elections.