Your Opinion: Cannot win on merit

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October 23, 2012

Your Opinion: Cannot win on merit

Anonymous CNHI The Tifton Gazette Tue Oct 23, 2012, 10:21 PM EDT

Politicians and political parties that cannot win on merit in the marketplace of ideas have other strategies for winning. Some of these strategies fall under the general term of “voter suppression”. They hope to win by thwarting your right to vote. This is often done by passing laws that make their efforts “legal” in a strict sense of the term.

One example of voter suppression is gerrymandering of voting districts to redraw district boundaries to include or exclude specific voter blocs in order to favor one party over the other. The political party in power in a census year has control over redistricting. The fact that gerrymandering has been a part of our political life since the founding of the republic does not make it right. It has been abused and that alone should be reason enough to fix it. Redistricting ought to be taken out of the hands of politicians and turned over to the courts or other impartial body (if there is such a thing). Even if redistricting can never be made perfect, it can still be made better than it is.

Another example of voter suppression is creation of impediments to voter registration. The idea is to make it difficult for people to register in hopes that they will be unable to register in time or will become discouraged and quit trying. The key to defeat that strategy is to register well in advance of the election. If something goes wrong, you will have allowed yourself time to gather whatever is required to complete registration. The last stand of the vote suppressors is to create difficulties at the polling places. Again, defeat it by voting early so that you allow yourself time to get whatever might be required.

A third example of voter suppression are the new photo ID laws. A government-issued photo ID card is required. A driver’s license is not the only example of such a card. Military ID cards are acceptable and you can go to the local driver’s license office and obtain a “Georgia ID card for voting purposes”. The requirements for obtaining such a card are the same as for obtaining a valid driver’s license: you need proof of residence, birth certificate, and social security card. The driver’s license office has an information sheet explaining what documents are acceptable to obtain the card. Again, the key to defeating voter suppression is to do all this well enough in advance of the election so that if a problem arises, you will have time to respond to it. The driver’s license office charges no fee for the “Georgia ID card for voting purposes”.

Of course, if you don’t vote and have no intention of voting, then don’t expect people to pay much attention to your complaints if you have not participated in the process. Disenfranchising yourself gives power to people who have their own interests in mind, not yours. And remember, people died to protect your right to vote. Exercise that right.

And remember too that the ultimate in voter suppression is to buy or even steal an election. Why would you vote for someone who tolerates or practices that?

Dick Marti

Tifton

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