#74 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Wednesday June 30)
Good morning!
VOTING RIGHTS, REDUX
Thank you, Dana Gordon, Mark DiMaria and others, for clarifying certain distinctions in the debate on voting rights and reasonable controls intended to reduce voter fraud.
There are two seemingly innocuous restrictions on voting that might seem reasonable upon first blush but are, in actuality, designed and in practice, intended to suppress voting.
Voter ID
I don’t think it unreasonable to expect someone to provide some level of proof of their residency and qualification to vote. But it’s more complicated:
We must acknowledge that many people don’t have driver’s licenses or state issued ID’s. Much as one can prove residency in some contexts today, using proof other than state issued ID, why not here? How about a utility bill? A rent payment? A summons for jury duty? A child’s report card? If the barrier to proof is low enough, perhaps voter ID is okay. By the way, why is a gun registration card OK but a student ID is not? I’ll let you figure that one out by profiling the politics of the likely cohort.
It’s tough to get an ID. It requires going to the DMV or other government office, requiring a separate visit (or visits) and public transportation, without time-off from work to do so.
Technical glitches invalidating ballots that by all rights should be permitted. For instance, when there is a maiden name rather than a married name.
All this being said, it is a small price to pay to require some form of ID, in return for securing other, more important, reforms.
Ballot harvesting
The debate seems centered around the idea that massive amounts of ballots are obtained by a single nefarious operator, who then fills them out and deposited them, en masse. As in most cases today, we tend to look at the minority of circumstances where there could be bad actors, rather than good intentions. Here are a few:
Why would it not be allowable to gather together ballots from those in nursing homes, congregate care, or hospitals?
Why wouldn’t it be okay to gather together ballot to deposit in a drop-off, particularly in Harris County, Texas, which has mandated a SINGLE drop box for a county of millions? The lines for drop-off are unacceptable and hinders a civic-minded person from casting their ballot, particularly when time isn’t granted for time off at work.
Requiring people to register
This would seem like a “low bar,” but it requires government bureaucracy and long lines. At this point, we have the technology and information to deliver ballots to those of voting age. Limiting this just limits those who are less able/willing/adept/with less time on their hands to regularly reregister.
JUNETEENTH
It’s in the books. The holiday to celebrate the end of slavery in America is now an official national holiday. I think its importance cannot be understated. Its importance is not merely a celebration of the end of slavery, and not merely the lives of the slaves who fought for their own freedom, but as a celebration of our country’s ability to make good decisions, become more just and evolve toward a better nation.
Mark DiMaria suggests that when we start putting together the list of people and the stories that we share each Juneteenth, some should include the abolitionists who fought, at great risk to their own position, wealth, and personal safety. One such person is Cassius Marcellus Clay, for whom the great fighter was named.
Clay used inherited wealth to establish an abolitionist newspaper, named True American. He fought off a mob seeking to smash his printing presses. He funded Berea College, the first college in the South to enroll Black students and women.
He was nearly killed in 1843 by a hired killer. He was later attacked by six pro-slavery brothers. In both instances, his aptitude with a Bowie knife saved him. He continued to serve his country, including persuading Russia to back the U.S. against the Confederacy. He died at age 92. Later, Muhammed Ali was named Cassius Clay, in honor of this great man.
Let’s celebrate folks like him, along with the Tubmans, Douglasses, and Garrisons of the fight for freedom in coming Juneteenth celebrations.
Have a great day,
Glenn
PS: Thanks to Michael Medved for his article last week summarizing Clay’s impressive life.
FROM THE ARCHIVES