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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1923It is not at all beyond the range of our conception that provision will be made in the future—possihiy not within a decade, cr even a generation—but ultimately, The Need of stipulating that the voter who fails llt;Universal Voting. exercise his right of franchise shall lose it for a specified length of time, by way of penalty for failure to perform what daily becomes a more vital civic duty. The tendency through the states is toward the extension of registration, for the purpose of establishing a fixed and definite voting population, arid this in a way is a restriction upon the right to vote, for the person who registers alone is entitled to vote at the ensuing elections. The persons who fail to register lose their vote, and they have no remedy sav in greater care next time. This limitation, however, ha not proven entirely effectual, and has net always served to bring out citizens for Hie purpose of registration. The same voters who neglect to vote, neglect to register. Oftentimes in the interim questions of such high interest arise, that they become anxious to vote, cnly to discover that they have not been registered. Still, there is a very large proportion of the registered vote that is never cast, no matter how important the issues of the baliotting.There is a pronounced evil in this that is growing constantly more dangerous as it leads to minority government and is destructive of popular authority. The indifference of voters to their obligations is often as well-defined as their critical tendencies when things do not go quite to suit them. Indifference at the polls is usually preceded by indifference at the primaries, and bad tickets are nominated, to the detriment of good government in both parties. Then the good citizen howls his head off. “Why do they run such man,” he cries, when he himself is to blame. If he would attend the primaries, caucuses or conventions that nominate these candidates, he could participate, and if he and his kind attended in proper numbers they could dominate any primary. The professionals name the tickets only when the lazy stay at home. Then when the primary is over, and bad tickets are pic sen ted. Mr. Good Citizen gets up an excuse for his disgust, and stays away from the polls again.There should be general registration of voters, with propel lee-way in the rural districts, where persons live considerable distances from the polls, so that they might register at different times. Then with this universal registration, there ought to be some penalty upon non-attendance. A fine will not surve, for the men and women who do not go to the polls would not mind the fine, and then, too, the fine would be an oppressive measure. What there should be, and what-there could very properly be, is a restriction which would exclude the citizen who neglect; the use of hi franchise from utilizing it at future elections.Discussion of this question is going on wherever students of public affairs have had occasion to observe the startling indifference of our electorate to their duties. Long continued, with increasing abuses that must result, our citizenship would grow so extremely distrustful of men in public office that sensible treatment of their policies would be well nigh impossible. The man deficient in the performance of his plain civic duties is usually the one who does the most kicking about the government.And the longer he stays away from the polls and ignores his job as a citizen on election day, and on primary day, just so long will those abuses continue that he complains about. There we have again a rule of cause and effect that will work against the successful administration of government.The advocates of compulsory voting argue that the requirement would lead many people to study candidates and measures upon which candidates for election will cast their vote, and thus to take a more intelligent interest in the affairs of their locality, state and nation, as well as in international affairs. They say also that compulsory voting is a corollary of oui established principle that there must be no taxation without representation, because since every citizen is taxed, it is perfectly logical and just that he should be obliged to vote as well.There are good suggestions in these arguments. It might further be said that casting the ballot should be deemed as much of a civil obligation as jury duty, as the payment of taxes, and in the able-bodied man, the duty of military sendee, when the country is in danger. Neglected it becomes the source of the highest evil in our system.The influence of the ballot-box enters every home and concerns every citizen. Every statute has the impress of some one chosen to office at the polls. Every judge who enforces those laws is chosen either directly or indirectly at the polls. Every lax imposed directly or indirectly rests upon, the action of the voter at the polls. None can be too good or too busy to fulfill the obligation here involved.Dut while we arc waiting for action that will enforce the system of universal voting that we require, the voters themselves must sec to it if they cannot themselves arouse the interest that would make such restrictions unnecessary.
Newspaper Details
Jefferson City Daily Tribune
Jefferson, Missouri, US
Wed, Aug 22, 1923
Page 2
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 02 Aug 2023
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