I believe a golden opportunity was handed to the Democratic Party today. A strange synergy was achieved by the coincidence of Abu Gonzales and the contest of the Ohio electoral college votes. The gravity of the macabre dicussions of the legalization of torture lends weight to the electoral college contest, and vice versa. Only the most partisan Republicans will be unable to see that these issues are relevant to them and the GOP is obstructing. Their ridicule of the obviously brave Democrats only sharpens the focus.
Jesse Jackson Jr made it abundantly clear today that the right to vote in America is not guaranteed. 108 other countries guarantee this right, but not the mighty US of A! I find this outrageous!
Now is the time that Democrats must gather the political will to propose a Constitutional Amendment to create federal election standards and guarantee us the right to vote.
And we must provide the Democratic Party the will to do so.
If the corrupt animals in the Oval Office can propose an amendment denying Americans of a freedom, imagine the contrast of a party actually proposing the extension of rights to Americans. This would be an act loaded with positive symbolism and actually achieve a greater good.
Now is the time for the Democratic Party to act. Derail Social Security "reform." Put tort "reform" on the back burner. Democrats, drive the goddamned car like you did today!
Opposition to this amendment would provide another opportunity for the Republicans to show themselves to be what they really are.
Features I would like to see:
*Give election day its proper respect. Make it a Federal Holiday. Shame Arizona into recognizing it.
*Standardization of the franchise, so we don't have this crazy quilt of accessibility to the polls across the country.
*Public ownership of all election equipment. *Sensible ballot designs to make voting clear to all.
*No fucking citizen initiatives considered in conjunction with Federal elections. No more hate amendments to draw all the inhuman freaks out of the woodwork when we are voting for the entire country's sake!
Is this crazy? Undoable? Tell me why. If you like this idea, what would you add to my list?
If anyone can bring a spotlight on this issue. Its the bloggers. That 'Thug from Arizona fired the shot across the bow. We need to answer it.
Update [2005-1-6 23:24:6 by lapin]:Pontificator points out Jesse Jackson Jr's statement from today; it doesn't look copyrighted, so here it is:
Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., today went to the House floor during the debate over the Electoral College votes from Ohio and said, "I want to be clear. Today's objection is not about an individual, but our institutions. It is not about Republicans, but our Republic. It is not about Democrats, but our democracy. It is not about an ELECTION RESULT, but our ELECTION SYSTEM - it is broken and needs fixing.
"The fundamental reason is this: AMERICANS DON'T HAVE THE EXPLICIT RIGHT TO VOTE IN THEIR CONSTITUTION!
"In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore ruled, "the INDIVIDUAL CITIZEN has no federal constitutional right to vote for electors for the President of the United States."
"Hence, our voting system is built on the constitutional foundation of "states' rights" - 50 states, 3,067 counties and 13,000 different election jurisdictions, ALL SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL.
"Consider this: If you're an ex-felon in Illinois you can register and vote. If you're an ex-felon in eleven states, mostly in the South, you're barred from voting for life. There are nearly 5 million ex-felons who have paid their debt to society but are prohibited from ever voting again - including 1.5 million African American males. But in Maine and Vermont you can vote even if you're in jail. Illinois, Florida, Vermont: different states, different rules, different systems.
"A state right is NOT an American citizenship right, but a right defined and protected by each state - and limited to that state.
"One-hundred-and-eight of the 119 nations in the world that elect their public officials in some democratic manner have the right to vote in their Constitution - including the Afghan Constitution and the interim document in Iraq. The United States is one of the 11 that don't! Shouldn't we be one of the 108 that do? As the greatest nation with the greatest democracy in the history of the world I think so!
"We need to build our democracy and our voting system on a rock, the rock of adding a Voting Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that applies to all states and all citizens.
"We need to provide the American people with a citizenship right to vote and provide Congress with the authority to craft a unitary voting system that guarantees that all votes will be counted in a complete, fair and efficient manner.
"It's the only foundation upon which we can build a more perfect Union.
"Every two or six years every member of Congress asks the people in their district or state to stand up and vote for them. Today it's time that every member of Congress stands up and votes for the people to have the right to vote, and to have their vote fairly and accurately counted," Jackson concluded.
Update [2005-1-7 16:21:42 by lapin]:#2
Apparently, a proposal like this was submitted during the 108th Congress. Thanks to Genf for pointing this out:
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 28 (4.00 / 3)
It is already on the floor
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 28
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding the right to vote.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:
SECTION 1. All citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, shall have the right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides. The right to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, any State, or any other public or private person or entity, except that the United States or any State may establish regulations narrowly tailored to produce efficient and honest elections.
SECTION 2. Each State shall administer public elections in the State in accordance with election performance standards established by the Congress. The Congress shall reconsider such election performance standards at least once every four years to determine if higher standards should be established to reflect improvements in methods and practices regarding the administration of elections.
SECTION 3. Each State shall provide any eligible voter the opportunity to register and vote on the day of any public election.
SECTION 4. Each State and the District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall establish and abide by rules for appointing its respective number of Electors. Such rules shall provide for the appointment of Electors on the day designated by the Congress for holding an election for President and Vice President and shall ensure that each Elector votes for the candidate for President and Vice President who received a majority of the popular vote in the State or District.
SECTION 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Endorse the Right to Vote Amendment!
(To find out if your Representative is a co-sponsor of HJR 28, go to thomas.loc.gov. For "Bill Number" enter enter HJ Res 28; click on Search; click on "Bill Summary & Status; and then click on "Cosponsors.")
Additional resources
Our argument for the need to establish a right to vote (also published in print-friendly pdf format for local distribution, and in Spanish: El derecho a votar.
See Professor Jamin Raskin's in-depth exploration of the issue(Word doc) and strategic considerations of sub-topics within.
On March 4, 2003, U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Illinois) proposed a constitutional Amendment to establish a right to vote with House Joint Resolution 28.
So what is the Voting Rights Act?
For an in-depth analysis of the impacts of ex-felon disenfranchisement, see The Truly Disenfranchised by Manza, Uggen and Britton (pdf).
Establishing a Right to Vote is one of three constitutional amendments proposed by ReclaimDemocracy.org.
NO NEED TO REINVENT THE WHEEL
DLC Centrism assumes that if Democrats move to the right the Republicans are going to stand still.
by Genf on Fri Jan 7th, 2005 at 08:22:15 PST
[ Reply to This | none0: Super Troll1: Troll2: Marginal3: Good4: Excellent ]
According to thomas.loc, here's the bill's current status:
Latest Major Action: 5/5/2003 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.
This bill needs to be resurrected from the dead and used as a club on the head of the kleptocrats.