Readers React: Real democracies don’t discourage voting

To the editor: Americans like to brag about our democracy and the right of our citizens to vote. However, from the beginning of our country, voting rights were restricted. Initially, only white men who were property owners could vote. (“High court action on Texas ID law shows mixed record on voting rights,” Oct. 18)

Over the next 200 years, voting rights were expanded to all men, plus women, blacks and other minorities. Historically, there have always been groups who have fought this expansion, using devices such as poll taxes. We are currently experiencing new ways to restrict voting, such as photo ID laws, which unfairly target minorities, and cutting back on early voter periods.

I have yet to see a study that shows there is widespread voter fraud, yet laws targeting this “abuse” continue to be passed. There can be only one reason: to make it more difficult for certain segments of society to vote.

If our country is truly a democracy with the right for all to vote that we love to talk about, why don’t we do everything possible to encourage voting? Why not allow early voting everywhere for a month before elections? Why not make absentee ballots available for all, adopting California’s example of allowing permanent absentee voting?

My husband and I recently voted in the comfort and convenience of our family room.

Susan Barajas, Alta Loma

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To the editor: Our right to vote is the cornerstone of our government’s legitimacy. To ensure legitimacy, every voter must register, a process that validates their citizenship and helps to ensure only U.S. citizens vote and that “one man, one vote” means just that.

Why then is the notion of voter ID laws such an affront to our rights? Why isn’t the basic act of voter registration an affront to our fundamental right to vote? Like an ID, it demands an affirmative act to enable the individual to vote. Why not simply trust people are who they say they are?

Every election, volunteers set up registration tables in shopping centers and drive voters to their polling station. Why can’t access to appropriate identification be supported similarly?

Integrity demands processes to prevent abuse. Those against voter ID laws should work to enhance integrity rather than leave a gaping hole in our voting process.

Glen Esnard, Newport Beach

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