Many years ago I heard a speech by a Republican congressman (I can't remember who it was and can't seem to find it) who said that best way for Republicans to win elections was to suppress the vote. That was said out loud and in public a few decades ago, but the fact of the matter is that voter suppression is nothing new. It has been around ever since people of color and women were given the vote, and continues to this day.
In the beginning, efforts to suppress the vote came in the form of poll taxes, unusual tests that were given at the polls, like knowing some little known fact from history. Suppression also took place by limiting the number of polling places, or placing polling places far away, so that poor or senior citizens would have difficulty getting to the polls.
Now we're in the 21st century, and many states are still trying their best to suppress the vote. South Carolina just approved a measure that makes it necessary to have a witness to your signature in order to make your vote count. If you are old and poor and possibly live alone, getting someone to witness your signature is difficult. Other current efforts to keep people from voting include reducing the number of polling places so that citizens will have to travel further, having groups of poll watchers (one poll watcher is legal) in front of polling places to intimidate voters, and shortening hours and days for voting.
Voting is one of our most cherished rights. We should be making it easier, not harder, for people to vote. That is, if we want all citizens to have an opportunity to participate in the voting process. That is what we want in a democracy. Other forms of government have different rules, but as long as we are democracy, every citizen has a right, and duty, to vote. Our country is now, more than ever, a melting pot, in which many thoughts and ideas abound. Everyone's voice must be heard.
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