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The Government Accountability Office issued a list today of 13 "Urgent Issues" that require immediate attention and ongoing oversight from President-Elect Barack Obama and the 111th Congress "to ensure the nation's security and well-being."

The list (.pdf) includes the "2010 Census" the "Transition to Digital TV" and "Public Diplomacy and International Broadcasting."

It does not include "Elections reform." Or a lot of other important issues, for that matter.

It's been clear to many people for a long time that the U.S. elections system needs an overhaul, but Congress has long been reluctant to involve itself in the issue because the Constitution primarily gives states authority over how to run their elections.

The only time Congress has inserted itself in the process is to address civil rights issues (the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993) and to pass the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which sent states on a spending spree, courtesy of billions of taxpayer dollars, to replace punch-card and lever voting systems with new paperless electronic ones. HAVA also required states to create statewide voter registration databases and conduct matching of information in those databases with flawed state motor vehicle records and Social Security Administration records.

But the pre-election controversies over ACORN and other voter registration groups, illegal purging of voter rolls and widespread voter suppression activities -- as well as continued concerns over proprietary voting systems and contracts with private companies to run elections -- would seem to make elections reform of higher urgency than the transition to digital TV.

What do readers think?

Here's the Baker's Dozen list of issues that GAO wants Obama and Congress to address. What else should be on this list?

Caring for service members

Defense readiness

Defense spending

Food safety

Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan

Oversight of financial institutions and markets

Preparing for large-scale health emergencies

Protecting the homeland

Public diplomacy and international broadcasting

Retirement of the space shuttle

Surface transportation

The 2010 census

Transition to digital TV

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