Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), author of the Pledge of Allegiance, was a socialist and a minister.

The original (1892):

I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands-one Nation indivisible-with liberty and justice for all.

Or the next:

….In 1923, a National Flag Conference, presided over by the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution, ordained that “my flag” should be changed to “the flag of the United States,” lest immigrant children be unclear just which flag they were saluting. The following year, the Flag Conference refined the phrase further, adding “of America….”

There was once a National Flag Conference? Really?

Or this one?:

….following a lobbying campaign by the Knights of Columbus-a Catholic fraternal organization-and others, Congress approved the addition of the words “under God” within the phrase “one nation indivisible.” On June 14, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the bill into law….

Then there’s Sarah Palin’s (r) understanding of the Pledge:

Oi vay, part 2 (September 8, 2008)

[….]

Eagle Forum Alaska

Monday, July 31, 2006

2006 Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire

…11. Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

…SP [Sarah Palin]: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance…

[….]

It’s interesting to note that some constitutional scholars consider a late 19th century socialist one of our founding fathers.

And then there’s this:

WEST VIRGINIA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION ET AL. v. BARNETTE ET AL., 319 U.S. 624 (1943).

….If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us….

A bill, introduced yesterday in the Missouri General Assembly:

FIRST REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE BILL NO. 499 [pdf]

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE RODEN.

1060H.01I D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk

AN ACT

To repeal section 171.021, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to reciting the pledge of allegiance in schools.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Section 171.021, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 171.021, to read as follows:

171.021. 1. Every school in this state which is supported in whole or in part by public moneys, during the hours while school is in session, shall display in some prominent place either upon the outside of the school building or upon a pole erected in the school yard the flag of the United States of America.

2. Every school in this state which is supported in whole or in part by public moneys shall ensure that the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America is recited in at least one scheduled class of every pupil enrolled in that school no less often than once per [week] school day. Flags for display in individual classrooms may be provided by voluntary donation by any person. No student shall be required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

[emphasis in original, bold indicates new text]

That last sentence is because of what the Supreme Court ruled in 1943, in a time of war, no less.

You know, if our school children were required to recite the Bill of Rights every day we might eventually gain a body politic that would understand that there’s actually more than one amendment to the Constitution.

Previously:

Barack Obama and “The Star Spangled Banner” (October 24, 2007)

Those who ignore history are, well….stupid (October 25, 2007)

And you shall know them by their deafening silence (July 1, 2009)

Back home again in Indiana: a modest solution to our universal school funding crisis (January 1, 2012)

Once again… (December 8, 2014)

Representative Jake Zimmerman (D – 83) introduced a bill to change Missouri election law yesterday:

HB 499 Changes the laws regarding the use of paper ballots at elections

Sponsor: Zimmerman, Jake (83) Proposed Effective Date: 08/28/2009

CoSponsor: Colona, Mike (67) ……….etal. LR Number: 1035L.01I

Last Action: 01/29/2009 – Introduced and Read First Time (H)

HB499

Next Hearing: Hearing not scheduled

House Calendar HOUSE BILLS FOR SECOND READING

The bill language is straightforward:

FIRST REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE BILL NO. 499

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES ZIMMERMAN (Sponsor), COLONA, LAMPE, McCLANAHAN, LeVOTA, SCHOELLER, HUGHES, TALBOY, WILSON (119), WETER, WELLS, SKAGGS, FALLERT, LOW, MUNZLINGER, DAY, SCHIEFFER, MORRIS, GRILL, HOLSMAN, KANDER, PACE, WALTON GRAY, SCAVUZZO, CHAPPELLE-NADAL, OXFORD, KIRKTON, ROORDA, McNEIL, YAEGER, SCHAAF, SCHUPP, ATKINS, STORCH AND WEBB (Co-sponsors).

1035L.01I                                                                                                                                                  D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk

AN ACT

To amend chapter 115, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to ballots.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

           Section A. Chapter 115, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 115.428, to read as follows:

           115.428. 1. For each election in which a state or federal office or measure is on the ballot, each individual who is eligible to cast a vote in the election shall be offered the opportunity to cast their vote using a paper ballot card. It shall be the responsibility of each election authority to provide a sufficient number of paper ballot cards to comply with this section.

           2. Any paper ballot card which is cast by an individual under this section shall be counted and otherwise treated as a regular ballot for all purposes, unless the individual casting the ballot would have otherwise been required to cast a provisional ballot.

           3. The election authority at each location where ballots are cast shall post in a conspicuous place a notice stating that paper ballot cards are available at that location and that a voter may request to use such a ballot. Such notice shall be printed by the secretary of state as part of the voting instructions required by section 115.417 and provided to the local election authorities.

           4. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 115.063, the direct cost incurred by an election authority for the actual physical printing of a sufficient number of paper ballot cards to comply with this section and section 115.247 for all elections in which a state or federal office or measure is on the ballot shall be paid by the state in the manner provided for in section 115.077.

[emphasis added]

That’s right, it would require that voters be given the right to request a paper ballot. Why is that so important (aside from the mistrust of electronic touch screen machines in the popular culture)?

First, lets take a look at an excerpt from recount procedures from the Missouri Secretary of State’s office (DRE is the terminology for a touch screen voting machine. LEA is the “local election authority”.):

…Ballot counting – DREs

NOTE: Only the LEA, LEA staff, and the bipartisan teams will conduct the recount, without additional assistance. Everyone else may observe, but may not handle the paper trails, containers, and DREs.

1. The LEA shall break the seal on the DRE component that contains the voter verified paper audit trail and retrieve the paper trail.

2. The voter verified paper trail shall be examined by the bipartisan team and the votes hand tallied for the State Representative, District 121 race using a separate tally sheet. The results will be recorded on the tally summary sheet (form provided) and added to the final results in the Report of Findings.

3. In the event that the voter verified paper trail is not usable for the recount, the LEA shall next use the audit trail* from each DRE that was created contemporaneously with the voter verified paper trail (*as defined in 15 CSR 30-10.010), and proceed with the process described in #2. The LEA shall then separately seal and secure any such DRE component for possible further inspection.

[emphasis added]

Let me spell it out for you. The Missouri Secretary of State’s office has a provision in its recount procedures which addresses the failure of the “voter verified paper trail” in an electronic device. That is, if it is not possible to use the printout that the voter used at the time they voted to verify their vote (and in a sense the direct artifact to the voter’s wishes is gone) then the recount must rely on an electronic record reproduced internally from the electronic machine. In addition, the procedures call for sealing the machine for possible future inspection if that internal audit rather than the voter verified paper trail is used.

A paper ballot is a direct artifact from the voter. We keep hearing that touchscreen machines allow us convenience. Try telling that to someone who has had to wait in line to use a machine. All you need to increase the volume of voters executing their vote at any one time on a paper ballot is more pens/pencils and a flat surface.

For the purposes of voter intent the only irrecoverable single point of failure on a paper ballot is the actual voter. They can and will sometimes screw it up, but ultimately it is their screw up. If the optical scanner fails then we still have the actual ballot which can be counted by hand.

Electronic machines can and do fail. If we have multiple points of failure and things get screwed up what would we have to do then?

From personal experience I will always chose a paper ballot if I have the option. If I ever lose that option you can bet I’ll scream bloody murder until I get it back.