Tag: voting

The Proposed Amendment Opens a Window to Erode Human Rights

On By AnnIn Activism, elections, politicsLeave a comment

Did you know that any US citizen residing in Kansas who is 17 years old can register to vote? If their 18th birthday falls before the next election, they can vote in that election.

I learned this two years ago. A friend I’d met on a trip abroad moved to Kansas on a student visa to study at university. He fell in love with a young woman who was born and raised in Kansas, married her, and he was on track to complete his US citizenship requirements. His final ceremony would happen between the deadline to register and election day in 2024. Thus, his situation resembled that of a 17-year-old with a Halloween birthday. He was not legit by the registration deadline, but would be before the election.

Could he, I wondered, register pending his citizenship completion? A call about this to our county clerk prompted her to call the Secretary of State.

Turns out, no, he could not register before he was a citizen. To do so was a felony offense.

Don’t our Republican state house representatives already know that non-citizens can’t even register to vote? The proposed amendment on our November 3 ballot is unnecessary and frivolous, a waste of tax dollars. Per our current constitution, only US citizens can vote in Kansas now. To vote fraudulently, or even register, carries stiff penalties.

Why do our elected representatives keep throwing amendment proposals at us? Ulterior motives maybe? A slight change of wording here, add a word there, and you have an opening to change definitions. Those who know more about constitutional language than I do have suggested that the new language, if approved, would allow our extremist legislature to define who can—and who can’t—vote in Kansas without the people’s approval. It’s a sneaky attempt to strip rights from some segments of our population.

For instance, women.

Pat Proctor, who is running for SOS against Jennifer Day, is known for his proposals to limit voting rights. Remember the bill he sponsored that eliminated the 3-day grace period to count mailed-in ballots? Thankfully, our courts have put it on hold for now. How about “family voting” where the male head of the family casts a vote for everyone?

Or the infamous SAVE act registration restrictions? It’s no secret that extremists in the US want to require birth certificates or passports for voter registration. For women, this is problematic, since women often take their husband’s surname when they marry. Their married name doesn’t match their birth certificate. The required supporting documents cost money. Passports are expensive too.

For those of us already registered, if we move someday in the future, our new address would require a new registration.

It’s part of a broad effort to concentrate authority in the hands of rich white men, ultimately an issue of control. The US is getting a reputation for repressing civil rights. The 70th Annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) was held in March this year at the UN headquarters in New York. Hundreds of participants from 45 member nations around the world attended. For the first time ever, the agreed conclusions (a document pre-negotiated by member-states) were put to a vote. The document passed with overwhelming support and only one vote against—that of the USA.

Why? Because the US had proposed amendments regarding DEI, the effects of climate change on women and girls, the definition of gender, and reproductive health rights for women. The amendments were rejected by the rest of the world.

The lone “No” vote among all the United Nations came from our country. Who are we anyway?

Lately, the men in charge want to whittle away rights: voting rights, bodily autonomy, health care, and legal defense. But “Liberty and justice for all,” right?

Only if you are the right gender, the right ethnicity, the right color, and have the right ideas and goals.

Early voting in Cowley County starts today, Monday, October 19 at the courthouse annex. You can see a sample ballot at myvoteinfo.voteks.org/voterview. Read that amendment proposal yourself. It is an unnecessary attempt by our statehouse leaders to fix something that’s not even broken.

Vote No on the amendment. Vote for Jennifer Day for Secretary of State to protect elections for all of us.

“I’m Not Going to Vote”

On By AnnIn Activism, electionsLeave a comment

I’ve heard that from a few people lately. The reason they give is that they don’t like either candidate. Not one or the other, as if there is only one race on the ballot.

Obviously, they are referring to the presidential race, but there always others on the ballot. Every congressional representative must be elected or re-elected on a two-year schedule. Some US Senators are up for re-election also, though none from Kansas are this year.

The state Senate is a different story. My hometown is electing both state Senator and local representative. These are important races. In addition, there are county, city, precinct and township races, judges at the district level, and judges in the State Appeals court, not to mention a very important State Board of Education race.

You don’t have to vote for the presidential electors if you don’t want to, but consider the races closer to home that will impact your life as much as the presidential outcome—or even more.

Back to the presidential contest. This election cycle has been called one of the most important—if not THE MOST important—election of our lives. There is a lot at stake for us in America, but also for our allies around the world. My personal election history has not been overwhelming. I can’t think of one candidate I ever voted for who thought exactly as I did and listed priorities to match mine. You could say that I have never really “liked” any candidate for president.

Does that mean I didn’t vote? Of course not. Does it mean I shouldn’t have bothered? No way. In my family, thoughtful voting was billed as an adult responsibility. I’d never shirk my duty. In most cases, I cast my presidential vote for the person who most closely aligned with my values. Sometimes it was simply who I thought would do less damage—not so much voting “for” my favorite but voting “against” someone who raised grave concerns in my mind.

This could be such an election for those friends who “don’t like” either candidate. Consider voting against the least desirable ticket. But using the excuse that you don’t like either one is not a valid excuse to ignore voting altogether. We simply must do it. For most of us, our votes are our only voice in this grand self-governing experiment. Though we don’t have a perfect system, it’s better than those of many other countries. I wouldn’t give it up so casually.

Turning to the electoral college, it seems apparent to me that that particular arrangement needs to be revised and updated. Since my first presidential election opportunity (in 1976) I have only once cast my vote for the candidate who captured the state electors to the electoral college. And that was an election which ended up going to the other candidate nationally. In subsequent elections, my vote in sometimes matched the national winner, but the state electors stood for the other candidate. It could be said that my vote for the last 48 years has been pointless. I admit it does get discouraging to think that my vote never really counts for much. But when the candidate I voted for won—even though my electors went the other way—it was exhilarating, though my vote amounted to essentially nothing.

Should I just stop voting in presidential elections? I don’t think so. It’s still important to be an adult and shoulder my responsibilities. To simply not vote is the same as giving up and giving in. Somewhere I read that you aren’t really beaten until you quit trying. So I persevere. And I urge you to do the same. The futures envisioned by each of the 2024 presidential candidates are vastly different—scary as hell in one case.

Which do you want to support?