Friday, May 07, 2004

Election Boards Blocking College Students From Voting

This story beefs up the disenfranchisement element of the No Confidence campaign. It is not just African Americans or people whose names are similar to those of felons.

"Federal and state courts have clearly established that students have the right to vote where they go to school, even if they live in a dorm. But interviews with college students, civil-rights attorneys, political strategists and legal experts reveal that election officials all over the country are erecting illegal barriers to keep young voters from casting ballots."

Rolling Stone Article (in GuvWurld archive, links to original)

Meanwhile, 14 year old California students have managed to advance legislation out of the Senate Elections and Reapportionment Committee in Sacramento that would lower the voting age from 18 to 14. A reasonable debate can be had over what age is appropriate for voting eligibility. However, what is not quite right about this story, even if you support the age reduction, is the idea that 14 and 15 year olds would be counted as 1/4 of a vote and 16 and 17 year olds would be counted as 1/2 a vote. This is a convoluted form of disenfranchisement happening even under the guise of broadening civic participation.

See the San Francisco Chronicle Article (in GuvWurld archive, links to original).

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