Ohio Makes It Easier To Vote, So GOP Threatens Lawsuits

In the political world, it is common knowledge that when you have more voters voting, the population tends to skew more and more to the left. Republicans do not like admitting this very often and heavily rely on fear, manipulation and sometimes a little smoke and mirror treatment to the ballot boxes. Despite all that, Ohio is a crucial battleground state, and they do not take the state lightly. So when the buckeyes decided to allow more people to vote and make it easier by the way of same-day registration and early voting, Republicans went beserk.

From Yahoo News:

Ohio has created a window in the election calendar that would allow residents instant gratification — register one minute, vote the next. It's also given the campaigns of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain a chance to bank thousands of first-time voters during that Sept. 30 to Oct. 6 window.

The move will benefit Obama, who enjoys a 2-to-1 lead over McCain among 18- to 34-year-olds, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released last month. If Obama's campaign were able to tap into college campuses with one-stop voting, it would add thousands of votes to his tally in a state where, in 2004, John Kerry lost to President Bush by only about 118,000 votes, putting Bush over the top in the electoral count.[...]

In Ohio, Republicans are clearly not pleased with same-day registration and voting and have not ruled out a lawsuit against Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's office.

"You have to wonder, when they look at what they consider a loophole with such excitement," said Jason Mauk, the Ohio Republican Party's executive director. "That would suggest manipulating the process, and I think opens the door to suspicion."

Suspicions? Manipulations? Do you really want to go there Mr. Mauk? Really, this is a tremendous boon to the process that we call democracy. Allowing more people to vote with less restrictions is a good thing, not a manipulation. If the Republicans had a message with broad appeal and a record to back that up, they'd be just as happy as the Democrats...but they don't, so they have to resort to whining about the freedom to vote and frivolous litigation.

Electoral Reform, Because Americans Are Busy People

Out of fifty states in our union, only nine allow their residents the ability to register to vote in an election on the same day. This not only applies to brand new voters but those that have moved since the last election. Studies have shown that same-day states have higher turnout rates than the rest of us. In the 41 states that require one to register weeks before the primary election, many people in their busy lives only pay attention to politics as the time to vote nears and realizing that the time to register has passed is all too common.

The problem is especially harsh for young people. We tend to move around more than other age groups and of course this is the time of life where one registers for the first time as adulthood begins. This led the New York Times to talk to students at Ramapo College out in New Jersey.

From The NY Times:

“I’ve been really busy with work and school; it’s been hectic; my car broke down,” Mr. Backhus said while talking heads yakked about politics on the television screens at the student dining hall. “I never got around to registering.”

At Ramapo, the circus also won’t include Cherie Richardson of Paterson or Qurita Powell of Trenton, who both like Hillary Rodham Clinton, or Ryan Mastropole of West Milford. Jerry Leatherman of Milltown doesn’t think he is registered, but, hey, who can be sure? They figure politics is like studying for tests — you usually don’t get interested until it’s in your face.

For a political junkie like me it is hard to remember that all people are not as involved in what is going on in American politics, but of course, this is the reality. That is why every state should be like Iowa and New Hampshire (and several others) and allow everyone to register on the same day as the one the primary is held.