The Rethugs are up their old tricks again here in the heartland. A modest proposal to set up an early voting center on the Ball State University campus in Muncie, IN, will likely be stopped by a single Republican.
Not only does the party of Lincoln Rove want to suppress the vote, they also seem intent on insulting young voters in the process.
The story is below the fold.
It seems simple and reasonable enough.
With nearly 20,000 students, over 900 faculty members, and more than 2800 staff members, having an early-voting location on the Ball State campus just makes good sense, especially considering that just over 48,000 people voted in all of Delaware County in 2004. Currently, the county has only one early-voting location. That is in downtown Muncie, a good bus ride from the campus. Plus, it would reduce lines at the polls on election night.
It makes even more sense when you consider the following as reported in the Muncie Star Press:
Most, including Student Government Association President Frank Hood, spoke in favor of the idea.
In a prepared speech to the election board, Hood noted that the College Republicans and University Democrats issued a joint statement in support of the early voting site.
Hood also said the SGA was willing to offer $1,500 from its discretionary funds.
"Students who support both parties are here supporting this issue," he said.
The idea also has the support of Ball State University President JoAnn Gora, who in a letter to the election board, agreed to provide space at no cost for the office and some financial support.
Progressive Congressional Candidate Barry Welsh (IN-06) also spoke up for the students:
"We should work to make voting more accessible to everyone. Since we have been under the Bush administration we have seen restrictions placed and people turned away. I plan to work to reverse that and make it as simple and convenient as possible to vote and I am starting with the Ball State Students."
And it's not unusual. Such early-voting centers have been set up at Purdue University, Indiana University, and Indiana State University.
But here's the monkey wrench:
Under Indiana law, establishing a satellite early-voting office would require unanimous approval from the three-member Delaware County Election Board. And at a Tuesday election board meeting, Bill Bruns, the board's lone Republican member, said he was unlikely to vote for such a measure.
(snip)
Bruns was unmoved by the letter, saying he had concerns about security and staffing at the sight and believed it was too late in the election season to open a satellite office.
(snip)
In a previous interview with The Star Press, Delaware County Republican Party Chair Kaye Whitehead said she was worried the voting site was a political ploy.
Whitehead said she was worried that early voting on campus would encourage uninformed students to cast ballots.
Such uninformed students, she said, would be more vulnerable to a concerted effort to buy votes with freebies, such as hot dogs.
In response, the Star Press said this in an editorial today:
C'mon.
Another excuse? They point to security and staffing issues and say it is too late in the election season to make this decision. You can't be serious. Election Day is almost two full months away.
(snip)
Many if not most students are probably better informed than generations much older than themselves. Some live here full time for four years or more and all reside here a majority of the year. A significant percentage are originally from Muncie. All have the right to cast their ballots in Delaware County.
If the community's goal is to keep some of these educated, high-wage-earning, potential leaders here after graduation, disrespecting them is not the way to go about it.
It's also not the best way to encourage participation in the political process, something voter turnout numbers show has declined dramatically over the past few decades.
(snip)
Encouraging participation by young adults, including making it easier to vote with an early voting center at Ball State, is an investment in the future of both parties. Why local officials of one party would choose not to do that is a mystery.
Well, it's no mystery to me. The Rethugs want to suppress the vote any way they can. There is no legitimate excuse for this. It is an obvious and despicable ploy by a desperate party.
The final decision will be made at a meeting on September 17. I fully expect Bruns to confirm that he is un-American and anti-democracy by attempting to suppress the vote for cheap political gain.
Of course, why would you expect anything different from a party that tried to keep BSU voter registrations from being processed before the primary and one of whose Rethug members physically attacked a news reporter?
One can only hope that these tactics backfire and that such arrogance is answered with an awesome turnout by an energized student body.