I read all four pages of that article, and the supplementary articles it referenced.

The good news is that there were a number of indictments, prosecutions, and people stepping down from their positions. Unfortunately, as the article mentions quite a few times "the damage was already done"

This not only happened once, it happened twice, and as the article mentions, there are no safeguards to stop it from happening again. So what do you do?

America is a country where you're free to register to vote, and ultimately vote, and the people in power are free to invalidate your voter registration, or your vote, for any number of trumped up reasons. Why don't people care? Why aren't they shouting from the rooftops?

In Australia all citizens over the age of 18 are mandated to vote each election. If you don't vote, you are fined, no questions asked! Imagine that!

Taking action is most important. When I get back to the states I'll be more political then ever. Living overseas has taught me a lot. If you want to make a change contact your local party chapter. If you don't know how to contact them you can search this page and find your local chapter http://pdamerica.org/orgs/chapters.php .

Here are just a few things you can do to make a difference, the site lists a lot more:

Yard signs for candidates
Walking door-to-door with candidates
Hosting coffees and neighborhood meetings for candidates
Preparing mailings
Walking in parades with candidates
Phoning people to remind them to vote for candidates
Working as an election board member - and you get paid for this one!
Making a financial contribution to your party