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Stop The Voting - A Commentary

By Merrie Spaeth, KERA 90.1 commentator

Dallas, TX – Let's see... today is April 30th. It's the last day of early voting. I've just voted in the referendum for police pay. Some Dallas residents have been asked to vote five times this year already, and we have coming up - the school board, and maybe run-offs, and then there's November.

Despite all the hubbub over the recent run off between former mayor Ron Kirk and school teacher Victor Morales, do you know what percent of eligible Texans voted? 5.1% - the second lowest turnout ever. Of course, only 2.11% of voters bothered to vote in the 2000 Democratic primary runoff.

Am I the only one who thinks we're asked to vote too many times? Sure, I know it's a citizen's duty. There are many reasons for apathetic voters - not much difference in the candidates, not much credibility in the candidates? real problems? but we add to them. Want more people to turn out to vote? Make it regular, convenient, and market it.

Make it regular. Like the four quarterly payments I make for taxes. We should have a few voting days each year, and those pre-planned days should include provisions for 'special election days' to be used in case a run off or special referendum is needed.

Make it convenient. Haven't election officials been paying attention to everything banks and retailers have been learning for decades? 'Convenient' means - several ways you can register your vote. Today, that means it should include electronic voting.

It's ridiculous that I can buy a car or house over the Internet and spend thousands of dollars but I can't vote, and it means time. I can find someplace to withdraw money 24 hours a day but I have to get to the voting place - even early voting - on their schedule.

You know the argument against these things - security. But when I just showed up to vote, I showed my registration card - about the easiest thing to forge you can imagine. No requirement for picture ID, no check of who I really was.

Finally, market it. Have you seen any worthwhile activity that doesn't have some marketing oomph behind it? Marketing means more push to get people to vote. It may mean some disincentives if you don't vote.

Why not a greater push to get people to vote? Here's a dirty little secret. Neither party wants to encourage people to vote - if it's not sure how they're gonna vote. As a lifelong Republican, I'm directing my pleadings to the Republican Party. Jack Kemp, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, former quarterback, and longtime activist argues that the most important public policies are those that foster economic growth and opportunity.

Jack Kemp, you remember was also Bob Dole's vice presidential candidate in 1996. Jack urged Republicans to aggressively seek out minorities and young people to register and vote. He said that the conventional wisdom that these groups would also vote Democratic and liberal was wrong. Most important, he said that our republic depends on citizen participation. I've always thought he was right, and that's why we need to tackle the problem of shamefully low voter participation. I'm Merrie Spaeth.

Merrie Spaeth is a communications consultant in Dallas.