Voting

Why Are Millions of Citizens Not Registered to Vote?

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Why Are Millions of Citizens Not Registered to Vote?

"Registration’s importance to the voting process and the large number of individuals who remain unregistered have spurred several major reforms intended to increase voter registration. Most notably, the federal government’s National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) requires that states allow eligible citizens to register to vote when completing other transactions at state motor vehicle and social services agencies, a provision commonly known as Motor Voter. Since enactment of the law, some states have expanded on this requirement by automating the Motor Voter process. Colorado upgraded its Motor Voter process in 2017, and Oregon became the first state to implement automatic voter registration in 2016, with at least six more planning to implement similar policies in the future. Other states offer Same Day Registration, which allows individuals to register and vote on Election Day, often right at their polling places."

Absentee Ballot

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Today on my list of things to do is request an absentee ballot so I can vote in the Democratic Primary.

The Day After – Election Day

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A deep breath is what we all have to take. Days, months, years, of planning, scheming, hard work, volunteering, and campaigning come to an end with the selection of our next generation of leaders, who will decide what direction to take our country in the next two to four years. The millions of phone calls come to an end, the campaign signs and literature go in the garbage, and the pundits size up the next generation of elected officials for the next two or four years.

Voting

It came to an end rather abruptly by the filling in of a few scantron ballots by a few million voters. The machines at the end of the night, instantly tallied them up, and the results were announced. Some candidates became elected officials, while others will spend the next few months paying off their debts and pondering what wrong. Elections always have a definitive timetable, and they come to an end.

Power Line Right of Way

 We now move onto the month of November, the election but a memory. The leaves are gone from the trees, the days are colder, and evenings approach around 4:30 PM. The days are often crisp, but there is always a chance for a quick inch or snow when the weather is right. Thanksgiving and Christmas is just around the corner. But a few more weeks remain before winter fully sets in.

Tie Voting Rights to Gun Ownership Rights

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There is a lot of debate today on who should have the right:

  • To Own Firearms

  • To Vote in Elections

Obviously, as a democratic society, which strongly believes in the second amendment and the right of individuals to own firearms for personal protection and hunting, as many people as possible should have both the right to vote and own firearms.

vote

Some people argue to prevent future massacres and murders, we need more gun control. And yet others say, we should have more clamping down on elections, to ensure those who shouldn’t be voting, don’t. Dangerous and insane people, after all, could influence close elections, and cause party control to be thrown from one person to another.

Basic fairness suggests that if you are a citizen of a society, you should keep your basic rights. If for some reason, a citizen commits a serious or infamous crime, they should lose all of their rights. Once they have completed their sentence, and are viewed once again to be safe to be returned to the street, then they should have all rights restored – be it second amendment rights or voting rights. Dangerous people do not belong on the street. If somebody lacks the ability to know right for wrong or is morally corrupt, they should either be locked up behind bars or executed by criminal justice system.

A double standard makes no sense.

2010 Statewide Elections in Maps

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2010 Statewide Elections in Maps A look back at the last election cycle and how things played out.

Here is a map of the Average Democratic Preformance for all Statewide Candidates in 2010.

Here is the Gubernatorial Race. Notice how Andrew Cuomo won most rural and urban communities, with the exception of the most conservative towns in the Southern Adirondacks, Catskill Mountains, and also Western NY, where hometown favorite Carl Paladino snapped up many votes.

In Competitive State Senate Elections (which there many in 2010), Democrats won over many small towns in Upstate New York. That said, the votes that Democrats won, often where not enough to offset the more populated areas where Republicans won. Votes on third party lines (not included) also helped win Republicans over in certain districts.

The same can be said with the State Assembly. Despite winning far fewer towns, they kept a strong majority, in part thanks to their strong New York City base, and fushion candidates, running on multiple lines not shown on this map.