Stephen Chapman’s thought-provoking column headlined “Keeping elections safe from would-be voters” (Op-Ed, March 21) points out many shortcomings in our system of electing officials. One must also be reminded, however, of the days, not long ago, when vote fraud was rampant in Chicago. “Vote early and often” was the phrase often heard. The problem was not voter turnout but honest elections.
It is quite possible that we are, to a very large degree, a spoiled, lazy, uninformed, uninterested and non-thinking electorate. It does require a little effort to register to vote. It does require a little effort to get to the polls on Election Day. An honest election requires a little effort. Being a non-voter requires no effort. It requires no thinking. The old saying applies, “Say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”
The politicians must love all non-voters because they are harmless. The non-voter, in effect, places his or her destiny in the hands of people who will pass the laws that must be obeyed and levy taxes that must be paid to provide the services required by the community.
If our system of government doesn’t work as well as it should, perhaps it’s because of the apathy shown by the electorate, rather than the ineptitude of our elected officials.
Many non-voters, no doubt, perform many tasks that require much more energy, intelligence and ingenuity than it takes to register to vote and cast a ballot. It is quite possible that some people find it impossible to cast a ballot, but it is also quite probable that the majority of people who don’t care to vote are lacking a legitimate excuse.
To put it in simple terms: This is a free country. If you wish to vote, vote; if you don’t wish to vote, don’t. It’s up to the individual, not a politician or a bureaucrat.
Franklin Roosevelt said in a radio address on Oct. 5, 1944: “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves–and the only way they could do that is by not voting.”
Why not stop making excuses for people who don’t care to vote. It’s too cold, it’s too hot, it’s the wrong day, it’s the wrong hour, the wrong season, the polls are hidden, etc., ad nauseam. The fact that millions of people do register and do vote is proof enough that the tasks are simple enough. Why one person chooses to vote and another chooses not to is purely a personal matter. Trying to make voters of non-voters is like trying to teach someone to read who isn’t interested in learning to read. A difficult, if not impossible task.