The climate changed again today with temperatures heating up into the middle 70’s by the sunshine and light breeze. In my unprofessional opinion, today’s atmosphere felt considerably better than the record low of 14 degrees merely 10 years ago. Consider for a moment what kind of trend line those two points generate. Then factor in the record high recorded for this calendar date occurred 132 years in the past. As a student, I always hated when data messed up my calculations. Still it was a beautiful afternoon to walk to the polls and vote.
Voting is what makes us citizens with a government rather than subjects of a government. The process of selecting the individuals entrusted with the government is the social activity that absolutely needs to be accurate and fair in that order. I suppose it is no surprise then that the State Democratic Party selected Election Day to begin a campaign of emotional fear mongering. Please admire the words they elect to use in their press release.
Voting is what makes us citizens with a government rather than subjects of a government. The process of selecting the individuals entrusted with the government is the social activity that absolutely needs to be accurate and fair in that order. I suppose it is no surprise then that the State Democratic Party selected Election Day to begin a campaign of emotional fear mongering. Please admire the words they elect to use in their press release.
"The Democratic Party of Wisconsin today launched a significant effort to inform Wisconsin citizens about the increasing threat to their right to vote from Republicans in the Legislature. The voter ID bill being considered by the State Legislature would severely discriminate against seniors, the poor and young people by creating unnecessary and artificial barriers to exercising their constitutional right. For example, nearly 100,000 Wisconsin seniors do not have a driver’s license and would be denied the right to vote under this bill".The Democrats are responding to the Republicans proceeding with Wisconsin Voter ID Legislation. This legislation is being driven by the concern, expressed by both political parties, that there are recent instances where the voting process appears less than accurate. Locally the concern is greatest in Milwaukee County where election guidelines were undeniably ignored. In contrast to the favored phrasing of the Democrats, the Republican press release verges on dull.
“We have worked very hard to ensure everyone wanting to vote will have access to the system under this legislation,” said Senator Leibham. “The opponents of photo ID keep bringing up concerns that have been addressed by this Bill. At this point you either support election integrity or wish to maintain a flawed voting process.”In American we have a secret ballot but we do not have secret voters. If voting is the defining social function of our society then the process needs to be above reproach and able to withstand close inspection. All other considerations, like time in the line or the color of the ballots, are secondary to accuracy. Put simply, it is impossible to have fairness without first having accuracy. No portion of the population, the poor, the old or the indifferent, can achieve justice unless the validity of the voting process in the primary concern. And most importantly the integrity of the process can not be established by emotion, it must be measured and true. Validity comes from verification that each person who votes is a legitimate citizen, and that each legitimate citizen votes only once.
