Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Voting is a Right, Not a Privilege


Florida Gov. Rick Scott is trying to cut early voting from 12 days to 8 days to depress Democratic voter turnout. Only one state supervisor of elections has stepped forward to challenge Gov. Scott. Republican (yes, I said Republican) Harry Sawer, Monroe county supervisor, stated his intention to offer early voting for the traditional 12 days. Gov. Scott has threatened to remove the supervisor. Monroe is one of only two Florida counties with a plurality of Republicans that voted for Obama, a Democrat.

Florida is not alone in this shameful, unAmerican action. In Ohio, Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted planned to allow weekend voting in rural (more Republican) areas but not in urban (more Democratic) areas. Pennsylvania House Republican Leader Mike Turzai told a GOP gathering, “Voter ID, which is going to allow Governor [Mitt] Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania" by disenfranchising Democratic voters.

Shame on you, Gov. Rick Scott and your GOP comrades. For 236 years, Americans have fought and died for the freedom to vote for their leaders of our republic. They fought against dictatorships that denied their citizens the right to vote and elect their own governments. By seeking to limit or deny citizens the right to vote, Gov. Rick Scott  and his GOP comrades have aligned himself with the likes of Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Castro, and other totalitarian and communist despots of the past century. Voting should be made as easy as possible, for all Americans. It is the basis of our democracy and any public official who fails to understand this or actively seeks to limit voting rights should be recalled from office.

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