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Roxanne Abbas, W A M M
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When the framers of our Constitution found they could not agree on who should be given the right to vote, they decided to give states the power to determine who could vote. In the early years of our country, only white men had the right to vote and take part in government. However, most states limited that right to men who owned property and some states further restricted voting to Christian (or even non-Catholic Christian), white, male property-owners.
In 1870, shortly after the Civil War, the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution greatly expanded the population of eligible voters. It reads:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
The intent of the amendment was to give black males the right to vote. However, some states passed laws making it almost impossible for black males to exercise the vote. Poll tax and literacy test laws effectively disenfranchised the poor and educated. The most insidious of these laws, known as the “Grandfather Clause,” limited the right to vote to men who were descendants of those who had previously had the right to vote.
Susan B. Anthony, the most renowned suffragist in our country’s history, was dead fourteen years before the 1920 passage of the constitutional amendment to which she had devoted her entire life. The Nineteenth Amendment reads:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Four years later, Native American Indians finally were granted the right to vote when Congress extended citizenship to all Indians born in the United States. The most recent extension of voting rights came in 1970, when the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution lowered the voting age to eighteen.
The 2004 Election
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires that electronic voting systems be in place for the presidential election of 2004. The law has resulted in serious concerns about the possibility of widespread voting fraud in November. The election debacle in Florida in 2000 has created a cynical public. On top of that, new electronic technology-known as Direct Recording Election (DRE)-is subject to programmer error or intentional hacking and lacks sufficient methods for auditing actual election results. The fact that the two largest voting machine companies, Diebold and ES&S, have intimate ties to the political right has generated additional suspicion.
Minnesota is also embroiled in election controversy with numerous local election officials charging that the Secretary of State has dictated changes that will disenfranchise eligible voters by rejecting persons with insignificant differences between registration form information and that shown on official I.D. documents. (For instance, if your driver’s license calls you Jane Doe but you call yourself Jane A. Doe on your registration form, you could be prohibited from voting.) There has also been widespread controversy over the availability of voter registration forms and the inclusion of third party candidates on ballots.
Why vote?
On November 2, 2004, all U.S. citizens have equal power in the voting booth. The vote of the poor counts as much as the vote of the rich; the votes of people of color count as much as the votes of white people. When we choose not to vote, we choose to give up our power and let others decide our fate. When we choose not to vote, we weaken our democracy and the freedoms many of us have come to take for granted.
Elections have been won or lost by one vote. In 1948, Lyndon B. Johnson (later elected president) became a U.S. senator by a one-vote margin. The states of California, Idaho, Oregon, Texas, and Washington all became states by just one vote. In the 1960 presidential election, one additional vote per precinct in Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, and Texas would have denied John F. Kennedy the presidency and put Richard Nixon in office eight years earlier. The outcomes of many state and congressional races have been reversed over the years when recounts have shifted a handful of votes from one candidate to another. Your one vote could make the difference in the future course of our country.
The presidential election of 2004 may be the most crucial vote of our lifetimes. While there are no perfect candidates to choose from, the clear differences between the major candidates make your vote of vital importance. Use the power of your vote!
The choice is yours. |
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W A M M Action!
Get out the vote on November 2, 2004! Share this information with friends, family members, and neighbors. Help people who have not voted before learn how to register and vote. Offer them transportation to the polls.
Minnesota Voter Resources
Minnesota Secretary of State
180 State Office Building
Saint Paul, MN 55155
651-215-1440 (phone)
1-877-600-8683 (toll-free)
651-296-9073 (fax)
online: www.sos.state.mn.us
email: elections.dept@state.mn.us
Your county auditor or city clerk
Check the blue pages in your phone book or online for contact information.
Minnesota Voter Guide
Who can vote?
If you are at least eighteen years of age, a U.S. citizen and have been a state resident for at least twenty days before the election, you can register to vote. Convicted felons can vote if they have served their jail and probation time.
When do I register to vote?
You are a registered voter if you have voted in any election in the last four years and have not moved out of the precinct since you voted. If you are not a registered voter, you will need to register at the polls on Election Day.
How do I register to vote?
If you are not a registered voter, you can register on Election Day. Be sure to take proof of residency and a photo identification to the polling place (e.g. driver’s license, learner’s permit, state I.D. card, tribal I.D. card, student I.D. card with a registration statement that includes your current address, original utility bill dated within thirty days of Election Day). It is possible to register at the polling place on Election Day without written proof of residency if you are accompanied by a registered voter willing to attest that you live within the precinct.
Where and when do I go to vote?
Most polling places are located in your neighborhood. Find your polling location online, or contact your county auditor or city clerk. Because of redistricting, your polling place may have changed. Check before you go.
Most locations will open at 7 am and close at 8 pm on Tuesday, November 2.
However, some locations outside of the Twin Cities metro area may open as late as 10 am. By law, your employer must allow you to take time off work to vote the morning of the election, without loss of wages.
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© 2004 Women Against Military Madness. All rights reserved.
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Complete October 2004 Index - click here
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