Sure there was Iowa, then New Hampshire, then the crème de la crème, Super Tuesday, but what does that really tell us about the state of American politics today? Jim Edlin, co-found of PC Magazine thinks not much. He thinks we could do a lot better.
The primaries have become an orchestrated media circus with states vying for the limelight to make their voice heard. It reflects more the machinations of media and hype than the average voter. Moreover, primaries make an extremely poor use of technology utilizing over-expensive machines that are unreliable and inefficient. Online Primary wants to explore an alternative means of primary voting, namely a single, national, popular vote primary. The site is straightforward. Choose your ballot on the left-hand side (Democrat or Republican or Open). Once done, you’ll see the list of primary candidates and you pick the one you want. You can also pick your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th choice. There’s even an “Anybody But” option. The last step is to verify that you are in fact eligible to vote in the US presidential election by June 1, 2008. Then you’re set. You can view the results so far on the front page.
OnlinePrimary.us In Their Own Words
“My name is Jim Edlin. I am not an expert in elections or politics or any related field. I’m just a citizen, and voter, who is really discouraged by how our current primary system is working (or not working) and who wanted to start a dialog about some possibilities that might be better. So I built this website as a way of getting the dialog going.”
Why OnlinePrimary.us It Might Be A Killer
Online Primary is a valiant attempt at showing that there are indeed alternatives to the current primary process. At the very least it ought to shed light on the problems of the current system. It also provides a framework for using technology, ie the internet in primiaries and elections.
Some Questions About OnlinePrimary.us
Does Online Primary have enough legs to make a difference? Will the population be motivated to vote online if not in an actual primary? Will anyone take heed of what Edlin is proposing? 
