Some people should not be allowed to vote, like non-citizens of the United States and citizens under a certain age. Some citizens lose their right to vote due to the conviction of certain criminal offenses.
Other than that, all people born in the USA and its territories have the right to vote. So do people who have legally acquired U.S. citizenship through processes established for that purpose.
For those people, I believe government should do everything it can to make it easy for people to vote, not hard. While it is reasonable and desirable to maintain good processes to ensure the integrity of every ballot cast, it is fundamentally wrong to make it harder for people who are entitled to vote than it needs to be. If we are to have a government of the people, by the people and for the people, lawmakers have no business using their power to pass laws that make it difficult for the people to make their preferences known by casting their votes.
Making it easy for all eligible citizens to vote can include:
Vote by mail
Early voting
24 hour voting
Mailing ballots to all eligible voters without prior voter request
Secure drop boxes placed for voter convenience
Sunday voting
Extended hours at the polls
A larger number of polling places, not smaller, so people can easily get to them
All of these can be done without compromising the integrity of each vote cast. Indeed, all of these have been done without triggering the voter fraud some seem to fear. While voter fraud is a legitimate concern and local officials and established processes are highly effective in mitigating that risk, inflated cries of voter fraud that cloak underlying desires to disenfranchise those who do not vote like you are illegitimate.
Other than that, all people born in the USA and its territories have the right to vote. So do people who have legally acquired U.S. citizenship through processes established for that purpose.
For those people, I believe government should do everything it can to make it easy for people to vote, not hard. While it is reasonable and desirable to maintain good processes to ensure the integrity of every ballot cast, it is fundamentally wrong to make it harder for people who are entitled to vote than it needs to be. If we are to have a government of the people, by the people and for the people, lawmakers have no business using their power to pass laws that make it difficult for the people to make their preferences known by casting their votes.
Making it easy for all eligible citizens to vote can include:
Vote by mail
Early voting
24 hour voting
Mailing ballots to all eligible voters without prior voter request
Secure drop boxes placed for voter convenience
Sunday voting
Extended hours at the polls
A larger number of polling places, not smaller, so people can easily get to them
All of these can be done without compromising the integrity of each vote cast. Indeed, all of these have been done without triggering the voter fraud some seem to fear. While voter fraud is a legitimate concern and local officials and established processes are highly effective in mitigating that risk, inflated cries of voter fraud that cloak underlying desires to disenfranchise those who do not vote like you are illegitimate.
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