The content of this article reflects my opinion of integrity or the lack of it in election ballots. This article provides some conditions that I have witnessed by voting or have been provided in media sources

Our election process we currently have in this country is a great one. It has a defined process with which election ballots are generated and provides the mechanism for getting issues to voters. However, the language used in many cases is something that is less than desirable. Contents of information for elected offices as noted on election ballots are not in question. The problem is the lack of clearly defined information provided on ballots when issues are before the voters. When voters enter the election booth they should see before them clear language regarding issues on the ballot. What they see in many cases is the opposite. Language written into ballots for various issues often confuse the voter as to the decision they should make on specific issues. There have been cases where to vote for an issue, you must say no and to vote against an issue you must say yes.

The definition of the word yes taken from www.dictionary.com is to express agreement or approval. The definition of the word no taken from www.dictionary.com is to express disagreement or disapproval. The choices provided for some issues before voters do not always follow these criteria. Issues on ballots should be written so that no confusion exists when making a decision. The word yes should be to express approval and the word no should express disapproval. While the language for election issues may not be intentional in all cases, I feel that they are in some cases.

The content of language used in ballots is a matter of integrity and wanting honest results. Voters have the right to have clear language placed before them to make their decision process an easy one. If anything less is presented, the results of an election or issue may not truly reflect the will of the people. If voters do not understand the language written for a particular issue, then the outcome may not be what they want or the organization that placed it on the ballot wants. Language that is unclear provides no benefit to people involved on both sides of an issue. The process should be modified to require that the language clearly define the way a person should vote for or against a particular issue.

To summarize this article the process of getting election ballots generated is a good one and should only be amended to improve the requirements for language used to place issues before the voters. These improvements that I suggest apply to both the local and state issues places on ballots for voters. The process of getting persons listed running for elected offices is not an issue. If we are to have integrity in our election ballots words should be clear so there is no misunderstanding how a person should vote for or against a particular issue. This is the only way that the results of an election can be considered reliable to be the true will of the people.