From “Bureaucratic Barriers to Young, Poor, and Minority Voters” by Joe Hines
“How would the 2012 election be different if many more young, poor and minority citizens participated? We would find out if we were to modernize our elections system. In most parts of the country, our elections system is stuck in the 19th century. Often intentionally, the patchwork of laws at the state and local level makes it difficult for voters to know how, when, and where to register. A new report by Youjin Kim, ‘Democracy in a Mobile America,’ highlights the impact of our inflexible registration laws on eligible voters who move after their initial registration, either in-state or out. Kim finds that there are ’10 to 14 thousand different ways elections are administered in this country,’ making the process both confusing and undemocratic for eligible voters that move…When eligible voters are denied access to the ballot by inept or irresponsive bureaucracy, our democracy suffers.”
Questions for Consideration
What can be done to urge maximum voter participation? How do Voter ID laws foster or hinder democracy? Why is or isn’t it important to participate in electoral politics? How involved are you?
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