Next Tuesday April 7 is Election Day. Spring elections sometimes seem insignificant and not worth our bother. There are few contested races and some with no candidate at all. This has been true in the Owen-Withee area for years. I still encourage you to get out and vote. We do, after all, have a Supreme Court race with two candidates with very different philosophies on judicial matters. Either way your vote won’t change the liberal leaning of the court for this year, but it could affect things down the road.
We call it the right to vote, but voting is not a right, it is a privilege. That is why not everyone is allowed to do it. That is also why we should allow ourselves the privilege and show up at the polls on Tuesday if we are able to vote. Don’t forget to bring your photo ID.
There is a lot of argument out there about whether photo ID should be required to vote. In Wisconsin even if you don’t have a driver’s license, the DMV will provide you with a photo ID that can be used for voting purposes. So it shouldn’t be that difficult. I do, however, think it is rather a waste of time for someone to ask me for a photo ID when they have known me for years, maybe even my entire life. That is also true when it comes to things like opening a bank account. If you have known me forever, why go through the hassle?
I do not support the President’s efforts to require proof of citizenship to vote. It should be a no-brainer that only citizens can vote. I will agree with that. The problem is that according to his rules, a certified copy of your birth certificate is not proof of citizenship. You would think that it would be since it lists where you were born. If you have been married, your birth certificate might not have the same last name as you have now. Or maybe you went to court to legally change your name and it no longer matches what is on your birth certificate. That could present a problem under the Save America Act. The best bet if the law passes is to have a passport. It could take a couple of months for that to happen and if a lot of people are doing it, it will only take longer. Only about half of U.S. citizens have a passport. I don’t have one and see no reason to get one, so does that mean if the law changes, I will no longer be allowed to vote? Again, voting isn’t a right, it is a privilege.
The ultimate question is whether changes to voting laws are even necessary. It seems that every test that has been done in regard to voter fraud or non-citizens voting, shows little if any violations. So maybe we should just say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and move on to something else.
But for now, exercise that privilege and vote on Tuesday.