(Crossposted at Students for a New American Politics)
Is one of your high school friends going to school in New Hampshire? Or for our older readers, maybe a son or daughter? For that matter, the kid/old neighbor from down the street? Well, today is the day to reconnect with them, because New Hampshire legislators need to hear their voices and they need to hear them NOW.
Today, the New Hampshire State Senate will be voting on a "voter ID" bill designed to disenfranchise college students. Republicans want to keep college students from voting because - surprise - instead of engaging with students in a conversation about ideas to earn their vote, they would rather kick students out of the process. While it might be tempting to want to believe that Republicans aren't that cynical, New Hampshire Speaker of the House Bill O'Brien made clear how he and his colleagues feel about the Constitutional rights of New Hampshire students.
For those not interested in listening to 14 minutes of partisan nonsense, Talking Points Memo provides a summary:
"They go into these general elections, they'll have 900 same day registrations, which are the kids coming out of the schools and basically doing what I did when I was a kid, which is [vote liberal]," he said. "They don't have life experience and they don't have life experience and they just vote their feelings and they're taking away the town's ability to govern themselves, it's not fair."
The bill would require that voters present a government-issued photo ID at their polling place in order to vote. Now, for those of us who are in college, we don't need a lecture about how readily available our government issued ID's are. My Vermont driver's license is somewhere in desk in front of me, but it hasn't seen the light of day since the start of the semester, and something tells me that the thousands of fake IDs college students possess aren't exactly what the GOP has in mind when it comes to this "voter fraud" eliminating measure.
Now, my college ID on the other hand, I keep track of, but wouldn't you know it - the one form of identification that every college student possess, this bill has been written to exclude. You've got to hand it to the New Hampshire Republicans, nothing says caring about constituents like limiting the number who will be able to vote to re-elect you. That's a dedication to public service that really strikes a chord.
There is something seriously wrong about the fact that my generation has grown up in a time where civil liberties are pared back and the political focus is on the restriction of suffrage rather than its expansion. For the past century, progressives across this country fought uphill battles to make sure that the fundamental equality of all citizens would be protected. And as the vote was extended to these historically disenfranchised groups, it became increasingly clear that the whole of America shares a progressive vision. Republicans thought they had found a new, winning argument with Ronald Reagan, but thirty years later it has become clear that the GOP's last great hope was a bust. And so instead of searching for a new set of ideas to propel conservatism, they've retreated to distorting the electorate to try and preserve their grasp on power.
If we don't say something, it'll work.
If you're in New Hampshire, click here to find contact information for your State Senator - they've got an office phone number for a reason, so give them a call and tell them why you think this is such an important bill. Also, give the Office of the Senate President a call at (603) 271-2111 and let them know just why this bill is a bad idea. As infuriating as this legislation may be, keep a cool head on the phone - nothing makes their arguments more ridiculous than when intelligent, thoughtful, young citizens leave them without answers. And if you're not in New Hampshire, share these links and spread the word to everyone you know who is.
2012 may not be shaping up to be another 2010, but that does not mean it is going to be an easy year for progressive candidates. With previous SNAP-endorsed candidate Annie McLane Kuster's announcement that she is seeking a re-match against Charlie Bass, it makes this issue even more crucial - if the progressive coalition is prevented from voting at the polls, America is going to lose out on electing the heroes we need today.
-Matt Breuer
P.S.: Students for A New American Politics is a student-run PAC dedicated to supporting progressive candidates and training the next generation of progressive leaders through our campaign fellowship program. To learn more about SNAP and what issues we are talking about, visit our blog & website, and if you're interested in helping us build the next generation of progress donate to us at ActBlue