Voting Needs to Be a Big Deal Again

Working on a reference book about the amendments to the U.S. Constitution, I was amazed to find how many concern voting issues. The 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, passed after the Civil War, dealt with citizenship and the right of former slaves to vote. The 17th provided for direct election of senators. The 19th gave the vote to women. The 23rd allowed residents of the District of Columbia that right. The 24th outlawed the poll tax, and the 26th lowered the voting age to 18. During President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration, civil rights bills were passed that ensured that all adult Americans had the privilege of voting. In the United States, voting is more accessible than in any other Western democracy, yet turnout remains low.

In the last national election, I worked as a clerk. In the March city election, I was the inspector (because no other citizen would volunteer to do it). After working those elections, some possible reasons for low voter turnout became obvious, as well as some common-sense observations.

Our government has bent over backward to make it so easy to vote that it’s taken away the aura of a privilege. You have to produce more ID to use your credit card than to vote. Teacher and former comedian Jeannie McBride, remarking on flight attendants demonstrating how to work seat belts, said, “If a person is so stupid they can’t figure out how to put on a seat belt, maybe they deserve to die.” In some very politically incorrect way, I feel similarly about voting. After demonstrating how the ink-dot system works, I say if a voter can’t figure out how to fill in a circle, poll workers don’t need to finish filling it in for them.

Both federal and local laws require multilingual assistance in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese, as well as voter booklets printed in those languages. One has to be a citizen to vote, and because the language in the U.S. is English, I feel it’s incumbent upon a citizen to learn it and seek the help they need; the government shouldn’t be required to supply it.

It often feels like “if it’s Tuesday, it must be another election.” Combining city, state and national elections when possible would save money, and people wouldn’t feel they’re constantly voting. Cull voting rosters, weeding out dead people and people who have moved. Several people told us they’d been trying to have deceased spouses removed for years. Precinct workers could be selected like a jury. Everyone should have the privilege of working an election.

In the national election, our precinct was empty after 6 p.m., which is when many networks began airing election results. In the city election, our precinct was busy right up to closing time. If winners haven’t been declared, people come out and vote. Media coverage of results in national elections shouldn’t start until after the West Coast polls close, or perhaps all polls across the country could open and close at the same time, like the stock market.

Even if election day were declared a national holiday I don’t think there would be any huge increase in voting. People don’t vote because they don’t think it makes a difference. The upcoming Los Angeles mayoral election, for example, pits one liberal Democrat against another. There seems to be no choice, but there is one -- between an incumbent and a challenger.

Ultimately, the honor of voting in one of the greatest nations should ensure our participation. We need to re-instill in our citizens the idea that voting is a privilege of democracy.

Sue Pascoe is a writer in Los Angeles.