It has been widely recognized that e-voting processes across the United States have serious problems that could potentially cause a repeat version of the 2004 electoral conundrum. This time, however, the problems could span at least 10 swing states, according to a recent report by Common Cause and the Century Foundation.

The problems range from not enough voting machines to glitches in polling equipment and registration poll books. Come election day, many will reach the polls only to be told they are not eligible to vote.

These problems have been reported over the past two elections, as electronic voting machines and processes become more wide spread. A CNN report indicates that in 2006, 20,000 Colorado voters left without casting their ballot as a result of crashed computer registration machines and long lines. This election, in one of the most contested states in the presidential race, they will have yet another new registration system.

Despite all these problems, however, CNN reports that “a new Government Accountability Office report on voting system testing finds that the Election Assistance Commission has not notified election officials across the country about electronic voting machine failures.”

In an effort to try to bring order to what could potentially be a legal and political nightmare, the Democratic party has formally organized the National Lawyers Council (NLC). The organization is made up of volunteer lawyers across the country in what is being hailed as the largest such effort in the United States.

According to their website, the NLC’s Mission Statement is:

[T]o ensure that every eligible citizen is allowed to vote and know that his or her vote is counted. Building on the tremendous election protection effort of 2004, the NLC works closely with the Party at the national, state and local levels to promote voting rights and to identify and combat problems that undermine those rights. While the NLC coordinates with the Party on other issues, its foremost objective is to organize early in every state and territory to carry out the Democratic Party’s commitment to this goal.

With such a massive volunteer effort to ensure political equity to all voters it seems efforts for an obvious and openly fair electoral system have been undermined. In fact as early as January of this year, bloggers were already beginning to note economic problems in the U.S. which raised the argument that the U.S. economy would end up creating the “richest third world country” ever.These prophesies have mirrored reality more closely than anyone ever anticipated with the recent financial fallouts.

With the economic stakes so high, and the world economy on the balance, an election fraught with uncertainty, similar to the 2004 elections, could bring this country to a standstill we haven’t seen since 9/11. Or worse, with the two political parties so polarized this election year, it could cause wide-spread discontent leading to nearly any number of responses by voters.

Let hope the electoral process rights itself in the next few months and addresses these serious issues before they become, as Wall Street has, yet another crisis we should have seen, but ignored.