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Published - Sunday, October 05, 2008

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Advocating any voting restriction is un-American


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We 21st-century Americans have inherited a legacy of overcoming institutionalized voting restrictions. We now know that democracy is healthiest when the greatest percentage of its citizens participates.

Advocating voting restrictions is not only anti-democratic, it’s un-American.
Our Constitution was ratified at the end of the 18th century when only one-quarter of the free white men had the right to vote. By 1828, when Andrew Jackson was elected president, property qualifications for voting had been eliminated, and all free men were voting.

The 15th Amendment after the Civil War was intended to protect the freed slaves’ right to vote. It was not until the 1965 Voting Rights Act that we actually committed ourselves to enforcing our Constitutional principles. With the 19th Amendment, women won the right to vote in 1920. The 27th Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered our voting age from 21 to 18.

These hard-won accomplishments should not be compromised out of concern for policy outcomes when

citizens vote on referenda issues.

I wouldn’t describe Wisconsin’s voter registration laws as lenient. We are a state committed to justice. Our mobile citizens deserve ballot access every bit as much as those of us more permanently ensconced in our communities.

We are painfully familiar with recent attempts to manipulate election outcomes through ballot access. In the 2000 election, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who was also George W. Bush’s campaign chair in that state, purposefully limited ballot access to manipulate the presidential outcome in her state.

In Wisconsin this year, our attorney general, J.B. Van Holland, John McCain’s co-chair, has been condemned on this very opinion page for trying to limit voter access in our state by complicating our voter registration process.

Let us commit ourselves this election season to continuing our great tradition in the Badger State of leading the nation in facilitating voter access to all our citizens.

When we invest our precious public resources into our election system, we should not try to enact discriminatory practices in this most foundational function in our democracy.

Instead, we should invest in voter education and encouraging every citizen to participate in our decision-making process.

This will inevitably lead our student population in La Crosse to voice their opinions in all the choices we make.

College students in our community are volunteering at the Mathy Center’s Boys’ & Girls’ Club on Viterbo campus. Students at WTC and UW-L are important contributors to many community service activities. Education majors are currently student teaching in all our schools. College students tutor and mentor our children throughout the school year.

Businesses in La Crosse reap the benefits of approximately 15,000 students and their families visiting our three extraordinary higher education campuses, spending their time and money in our fair city. This is a significant contributor to the sales taxes that help fund our local government accomplishments.

Because they won’t have a vital stake in the outcome, should we prevent any resident of La Crosse who is leaving for a new job elsewhere from voting in referenda issues? Should our retired citizens who go south for the winter, not be allowed to voice an opinion on school referenda issues? Once we start to discriminate, where do we stop?

In so many ways Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy is symbolic of our successful expansion of the right to vote. Should we allow ourselves to reverse our great historical accomplishment in order to manipulate a school referendum outcome?

Wisdom in democracy is a collection of the knowledge of all of us. We should not try to discriminate against any of our fellow citizens in our election process, through which we determine our collective direction.

Keith Knutson is a history professor at Viterbo University.
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wiseup wrote on Oct 27, 2008 10:24 AM:

" Keith, we should let all the illegal immigrants vote too, after all they have their free health care, free education, no taxes and other taxpayer supplied benefits at stake! WHY NOT OPEN UP OUR ELECTIONS TO EVERYONE LIVING OUTSIDE THE US, THEY ARE ALREADY GIVING MILLION$$ IN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS TO OBAMA! TALK ABOUT UNAMERICAN! "

debimomathome wrote on Oct 16, 2008 11:53 PM:

" maybe if there weren't so much cheating and voting fraud in the voting process, we wouldn't have to resort to using voter id. thank you, acorn for voter fraud. perhaps you democrats need to have more faith in your voting blog and candidate. "

Diane wrote on Oct 13, 2008 10:25 PM:

" Being raised in Chicago, voting fraud within the Daley Democratic Party was and is still rampant. Now the Acorn groups in many key states are buying Democratic votes for a few dollars or packages of cigarettes. Our voting system has become disgraceful and, illegal. We need state ID's with fingerprints that can automatically be checked via computers at polls to rule out fraudulent voters on site. It may be costly to set up but in the longrun it is the only way to assure the OUR VOTES are legitimate. Any questional vote should be tossed out. Both parties may monitor polls but, may only intervine on questionable votes. Our current system of voting varies state to state, is old and, is potentially inaccurate due to fraud. I wonder how many illegals, felons, duplicates voters and, dead people will be voting this year? It may be enough to win or lost! "

wiseup wrote on Oct 10, 2008 2:01 PM:

" Maybe Keith and Kami haven't heard of groups like ACORN. Maybe they need too. These despicable groups are paid to get votes by hook or crook. Cigarettes, money, alcohol and fraud for votes MUST NOT BE ALLOWED! NOTHING is worse or unfair than ALLOWING some people to vote more than once or allowing ineligible people from voting! This is why so many don't bother to vote at all. This is more destructive than disallowing votes because criteria has not been met. "

enuffalready wrote on Oct 6, 2008 7:55 AM:

" To:kamikazefaase

I will remember this abuse of office in 2010.

More importantly, I hope that you remember Ron Kind's misguided vote for the bailout package, as you step up to vote this November.

Ron Kind must go. "

kamikazefaase wrote on Oct 6, 2008 12:44 AM:

" The GOP tries to muster fear against groups that tend NOT to vote their way. We must not forbid college students from voting if they meet proper registeration requirements. This is what the pro/con article was all about. BTW, notice the timing of Van Holland's action. Like Florida in 2000, Ohio in 2004, now Wisconsin has its GOP state presidential co-chair acting in the selfish interest of his party's nominee by using his political office. Elected officals shouldn't be allowed to run others campaigns for political office or they should resign theirs to prevent conflicts of interest like this. A court should place an injunction stopping this until after the election. If this would have been done during an off year for political party related elections, then the motivation would have seemed much less political than it does now. I will remember this abuse of office in 2010. "

Myturn wrote on Oct 5, 2008 8:57 PM:

" Like I have said for a long time, it is going to be a bumpy ride. "

Myturn wrote on Oct 5, 2008 8:56 PM:

" Hey Blue, how long do you think we have to wait to hear the 'secure' WRS promised benefits are in need of money? "

Myturn wrote on Oct 5, 2008 8:54 PM:

" 'Mormons for Goy Midwest area Senators'? "

AmericanPatriot wrote on Oct 5, 2008 6:06 PM:

" With so much abuse and voter fraud we need an overhaul of the system to insure fairness. As it stands now in these close elections a thousand or two illegally cast votes can put a particular state's electoral votes in the wrong column. The really sad thing is that there are many political operatives who don't care about fairness. All they care about is saying and doing whatever is necessary to get their favorite elected.

All ballots should be printed in English only. If people want to participate they should take the time to learn the language. Are we going to have to hire bilingual (or multi-lingual) voting judges because people can't/won't bother with doing the basics? It seems the voting system has become a plaything for people with agendas, and the less people know about how government works the more endangered we are as a republic. "

Big Spender wrote on Oct 5, 2008 5:38 PM:

" "Jews for Buchanan"

"how several counties with optical-scan equipment capable of catching mismarked ballots had high error rates because officials disabled the function to save money; how the "butterfly ballot" cost Gore over 8,500 votes, and a rush to judgment overlooked the clear precedent of a court-ordered revote in the 1968 presidential election; how a Reconstruction-era law disenfranchising felons cost Gore roughly 85,000 votes, and how Bush's and Katherine Harris's offices combined to purge the votes of thousands of supposed "ex-felons," including one county election supervisor; how blacks, with 11% of eligible voters, constituted 44% of those "scrubbed" from voter rolls and 54% of rejected ballots"

http://www.amazon.com/Jews-Buchanan-About-American-Presidency/dp/1565847172 "

Blue State Bruce wrote on Oct 5, 2008 3:57 PM:

" Mavericky Ayers William Hussein Obama Joe Six Pack "

Blue State Bruce wrote on Oct 5, 2008 3:57 PM:

" William Ayers "

Blue State Bruce wrote on Oct 5, 2008 3:53 PM:

" Mavericky Hussein? "

Blue State Bruce wrote on Oct 5, 2008 3:53 PM:

" mavericky "

Blue State Bruce wrote on Oct 5, 2008 3:53 PM:

" Hussein "

Blue State Bruce wrote on Oct 5, 2008 3:52 PM:

" Because some bad guys have had that name also. "

Blue State Bruce wrote on Oct 5, 2008 3:52 PM:

" But mostly, don't forget Hussein. "

Blue State Bruce wrote on Oct 5, 2008 3:51 PM:

" Also, don't forget that McCain is mavericky. "

Blue State Bruce wrote on Oct 5, 2008 3:50 PM:

" Wow, I'm glad that Phil o' BS keeps mentioning that fact, because I almost forgot. "

Blue State Bruce wrote on Oct 5, 2008 3:50 PM:

" Hussein is Barack's middle name, did you guys know that? "

Michael Welch wrote on Oct 5, 2008 3:25 PM:

" Something (among MANY things) 'PO'B' does not know -- the author of the Trib opinion piece (I have had MANY some times ago) DOES NOT title it; the editor does. Dick Mial might now realize the 'ouch!' aspect of his shortening when they are SO MANY 'parsers' out there who prefer scratching scabs to debating substance hmm. 'PO'B' is also back to his 'Barack Hussein' bit I see -- a sure sign of flop sweat re: McCain; in fact the McCain campaign has already 'promised' 'US' more rough dirtier stuff to come. Right up 'PO'B's grimy alley! 'Restrictions' will always be directed toward potential DEMOCRATIC voters and since Roveian Repubs have stolen the last two elections, 'attempted robbery' at least ought to be expected in this one... "

Phil O'Bates wrote on Oct 5, 2008 2:19 PM:

" Boy, what a stupid title! "ANY" voting restriction is unAmerican? So America should send absentee ballets to Russia, China, Mexico, the UN? Well, I suppose for Keith that would be great, because we all know who these people want as their advocate in Washington.....Barack Hussein Obama. "

Common Sense wrote on Oct 5, 2008 9:47 AM:

" "In Wisconsin this year, our attorney general, J.B. Van Holland, John McCains co-chair, has been condemned on this very opinion page for trying to limit voter access in our state by complicating our voter registration process."

Any dufus can write an opinion letter, and the vast majority of comments to articles support Van Holland. "

Common Sense wrote on Oct 5, 2008 9:42 AM:

" What are you talking about, "voting restrictions?" Anyone can vote, as long as they are a legal voter, and they have enough ambition to get correctly registered. I guess you mean restricting anyone from walking in with no identification and casting a vote, is that correct? It goes back to "personal responsibility," something that is far down the list of important things for democrats. "

Common Sense wrote on Oct 5, 2008 9:37 AM:

" Allowing elections to be stolen by illegal voters is MORE un-American. "


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