Or will your vote be among the “missing” votes. We will lose our freedoms and our democracy not by guns, bombs and cannons, but by not having our votes counted.
Voting is protected by our Constitution and it is our right and responsibility to vote. When South Africa did away with Apartheid, many South Africans walked for days and waited in line for many hours so that they could cast their vote for the first time. We Americans take our right to vote for granted. In a non-presidential year, only 20% to 30% of eligible voters vote. That percentage increases to about 70% for a presidential election. In 1992 and 2004, the percentage rose to approximately 80%. Seems like the “Bush” family brings out voters.
In 2000 and 2004, voters were turned away or illegally removed from the ballot in both Florida and Ohio. Just the other day, a voter was arrested in Missouri because he refused to show a picture ID when he went to vote. Then there is the incident where the 90 year old nuns were turned away in Illinois because they didn’t have the proper ID. Many places in Europe do not require that a voter register to vote. The voting sites have lists of names with the eligible voters and this is what is used for voter verification. In Australia, the law requires that every eligible voter votes otherwise they receive a fine from their government.
The United States makes it difficult to vote. Every state has its own set of voting rules. This is wrong. Voting should be regulated on the national level because every vote, even for local candidates, has an impact on the nation as a whole. There should be one set of general guidelines for voting. One that prohibits states from creating impediments to voting and election day should be a national holiday.
So what happens when one finally does manage to get to the voting machine and cast their ballot? Will it be counted? With the electronic computerized voting machines, there is a great danger that votes will not be counted or changed by a hacker. Watch the trailer to “Stealing America“. It happened before and it can happen again. We must demand accountability in our voting system otherwise we will lose our democracy.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Are you registered to vote? You can verify your registration at VotePoke
Organizing for Change 