90 Million People: Missing!

The time has finally come to see the reckoning of years spent in the pursuit of that one indispensable possession so many of us take for granted. The election is upon us. The indispensable possession is our individual vote. In the next few paragraphs I’ll share my own thoughts about this precious thing, as well as sharing thoughts of very prominent Americans. As I was thinking about our right to vote, and seeking the ideas of others about the importance of this civic duty, I was reminded of the sad fact that far too many of us don’t vote. Current estimates are that about 125 million votes will cast in the upcoming election- but 90 million more Americans who are eligible to vote will not vote.  Over 40% of us who can vote, do not.

I find it remarkable that so many Americans favor having our children cross oceans to fight wars in other counties to help secure liberty there, but can’t cross the street to vote. Most studies conducted on this subject find that the number one reason citizens choose not to vote is the claim that they’re just too busy. The next most frequently cited reason is they don’t think their one vote matters. It seems we have done a very poor job as a country in passing on the importance of voting.

“Impress upon children the truth that the exercise of the elective franchise is a social duty of as solemn a nature as man can be called to perform; that a man may not innocently trifle with his vote; that every elector is a trustee as well for others as himself that every measure he supports has an important bearing on the interests of others as well as on his own.”     Daniel Webster 1840

As our country has grown from smaller beginnings to a nation of 310 million, perhaps the importance of voting, or knowing that our vote counts, has been lost. We need only look back a few years to see just how important each vote can be. In the election of 2000, only a relatively few votes in Florida made the difference in the Presidential election. In my own state, our current Governor was elected to her first term by a margin of 100 votes. These elections, and our participation as voters, are vitally important. In an address after the landmark Voting Rights Act was passed, President Lyndon B. Johnson said: “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”

LBJ was making the point that our individual vote is the one thing that provides for our liberty. I have been concerned to see efforts over the last few years to erode the ability to vote in so many states. We’ve seen this effort in the voter ID laws, passed on the pretense that there is an epidemic of in-person voter fraud taking place all over the country. There is not- never has been. Unfortunately several Republican led States have used this gambit to gain political advantage. Most notably this happened in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ohio. In Pennsylvania, the state Republican Party Chair was so bold as to even proclaim the voter ID law would cause his party to win. I was actually surprised to see our Courts consistently strike down these blatant attempts to suppress the vote. Even the conservative Roberts’ Supreme Court refused to allow Ohio to limit early voting (by refusing the case). Even in these hyper-polarized times the courts have upheld the sacred right to vote and denied those who seek to limit it. I think that speaks to the power of the vote and the deeply held reverence we have for this right.

I have been equally concerned over the decision that allows unlimited funds to be spent by (what could be) anonymous donors in an effort to buy our vote.  The effect of the “Citizens United” case is yet to be determined. Still I have the nagging sense that allowing millionaires and billionaires to pour limitless amount of money into campaigns is essentially wrong for two reasons. The first reason is that it allows candidates and their SUPERPACS to saturate the airwaves of TV and radio with relentless messaging that may or may not be true- and we are seeing this very thing happen now. With the amount of money that becomes available, candidates need not worry about truth. They can injudiciously and promiscuously keep pouring money into false ads with no accountability. The second reason is that these mega-donors (individuals who make personal contributions in the tens of millions) must want something in return. No one admits to it- but it simply stands to reason there is an expectation of having the favor returned. I cannot be convinced that these successful business people make that kind of investment without wanting to see a return on the investment. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be the successful business people they are. This level of money influence, by its nature, corrupts the process of voting.

To protect the integrity of the vote, and thus our democratic system of government, I would like to see two major reforms. The first reform is total public financing of campaigns. A level playing field would provide the voter equal access to ideas instead of overbearing ad campaigns. It would shorten the campaign season and focus the nation on the issues. The idea of actively campaigning two years for a four-year job is nothing but a distraction from actual governing, and keeps us all focused on the quest for political power instead of being focused on the issues of the day. Moreover the constant campaigning obsessively occupies our elected officials to the point that it hinders their very purpose for being in office.  The second reform would be to actively seek to bring the 90 million missing people back into our democracy. If only 60% of us vote, and the country is pretty evenly divided- then roughly 30% of all eligible voters pick our leaders. I doubt anyone who really understands how few people elect our government would see that as a true picture of the democracy we tout around the world. Recent attempts to limit the vote are exactly the wrong approach to protecting the right to vote. Those truly concerned with our personal freedoms and liberties ought to be fighting to expand the vote-not limit it. Yet it is the same people who shout and bluster about the loss of personal freedoms lately, who are the ones behind efforts to suppress the vote. Can you imagine what elections would be like if 90 million more votes were at stake.  Many of those 90 million are the poor, the disabled, and the disenfranchised, among others.

A movement for full participation in government has never been tried. Perhaps those in power, from both parties, may fear an election that includes ALL citizens because the dynamics of an election involving all those systematically eliminated, or socially stigmatized would change the face of government and most certainly tip the balance of power in this country away from the privileged. There are many ways to increase citizen participation once we come to recognize the value of expanding the vote. Some have been instituted, like early voting and voting by mail. But we have a long way to go. We can make election day a holiday, so people don’t have to miss work to vote; we can begin teaching civics in school again in order to teach the value of participatory government; and we can begin campaigns and activities that bring people into the system instead of scaring them away.

For those who claim concern for our freedoms yet don’t vote or worse, try to limit the right of others to vote please see the words of Thomas Jefferson: “The elective franchise, if guarded as the ark of our safety, will peaceably dissipate all combinations to subvert a Constitution, dedicated by wisdom, and resting on the will of the people.”

Thanks for looking in.

P.S. Tuesday is election day- PLEASE VOTE!!!