17512 Columbia

Remember to vote in Tuesday’s Primary Election … unless

… you are one of those who is disenfranchised in Pennsylvania. You could be disenfranchised because you’re a felon; you haven’t registered to vote or (gulp) you are registered as an independent voter.

If you are not registered in one of the recognized political parties, you cannot vote in a primary election. You’ll be sitting out next Tuesday because Pennsylvania is one of those states with “closed primaries.”

According to Independent Voting, “Closed primaries, which exclude independents from the crucial first round of voting, is one major structural obstacle to a vigorous democracy. (See www.OpenPrimaries.org)  Another obstacle is partisan control of redistricting, whereby state legislators – Republicans and Democrats all – carve up their state’s districts to guarantee the election of party-sanctioned candidates, using the power of partisan legislatures to support the status quo. Discriminatory ballot access requirements that are heavily biased against independent and third-party candidates, and the exclusion of such candidates from the nationally televised presidential debates jointly sponsored by the two major parties, are other obstacles. State laws that ban fusion and citizens’ initiative and referendum distance independents and all voters from the policy-making process.”

“Although the U.S. Constitution makes no mention of political parties – and although George Washington warned us to beware of them in his Farewell Address to the nation – the major parties conflate their own institutional priorities and interests with those of our government. They operate a virtually closed system in which they make all the rules; independents have no representation on any of the bodies that regulate elections, from the Federal Elections Commission to state and local boards of elections. The rules are largely designed to keep out competition and to sustain the power of the parties themselves. Without traditional partisan allegiances and with a recognition that nonpartisan politics produces the best public policy, independents are singularly positioned to drive meaningful reform of the electoral process. ”

The Center for Voting and Democracy advocates a Right to Vote Amendment:

“The right to vote is the foundation of any democracy. Yet most Americans do not realize that we do not have a constitutionally protected right to vote. While there are amendments to the U.S. Constitution that prohibit discrimination based on race (15th), sex (19th) and age (26th), no affirmative right to vote exists.

“The 2000 Presidential Election was the first time many Americans realized the necessity of a constitutional right to vote. The majority of the U.S. Supreme Court, in Bush v. Gore (2000), wrote, “The individual citizen has no federal constitutional right to vote for electors for the President of the United States.” The U.S. is one of only 11 other democracies in the world with no affirmative right to vote enshrined in its constitution.

“Because there is no right to vote in the U.S. Constitution, individual states set their own electoral policies and procedures. This leads to confusing and sometimes contradictory policies regarding ballot design, polling hours, voting equipment, voter registration requirements, and ex-felon voting rights. As a result, our electoral system is divided into 50 states, more than 3,000 counties and approximately 13,000 voting districts, all separate and unequal.

“The addition of a Right to Vote Amendment to the U.S Constitution would:

  • Guarantee the right of every citizen 18 and over to vote
  • Empower Congress to set national minimum electoral standards for all states to follow
  • Provide protection against attempts to disenfranchise individual voters
  • Ensure that every vote cast is counted correctly

“Many reforms are needed to solve the electoral problems we continue to experience every election cycle. The first is providing a solid foundation upon which these reforms can be made. This solid foundation is an amendment that clearly protects an affirmative right to vote for every U.S. citizen.”

Be sure to vote next Tuesday if you can.

Leave a comment