Lest any of us think the sudden show of concern about election integrity in RBC is a unique idea springing from local issues, it’s become clear this is part of a larger narrative at play.
It reminds me of playing Monopoly with my parents and their friends (only child, here, my options were limited). At some point in the game, someone would make a move, or demand rent on Park Place, thereby aggravating another player, at which point the rules would be brought out, read aloud, and argued over until someone quit, acquiesced, or, in one particularly memorable instance, stood up from the table and “accidentally” unplugged the new, electronic version we were using.
During those Monopoly disputes, I recall lengthy debates about the interpretation of the written rules. The adoption of new rules were suggested, argued, discarded. Eventually, board games were no longer part of those evening gatherings, and when I had children of my own, board games came with baggage from my childhood… I expected every board game to end in a minor war.
Lesson? When you don’t like the outcome of the contest, demand a do-over, or just unplug the equipment. Surely that will solve the problem, right?
I don’t think so.
Is that where we’re headed when it comes to our election process? Making voting so contentious and difficult people just don’t bother? It’s not like everyone votes now, even though they can.
Let’s not forget it’s been barely more than a century since women were allowed to vote (and then only after a lengthy fight). We’ve been using machines in one form or another to vote since the 1890s, to speed up the process and to improve accuracy and fairness. Just in my lifetime rules were established to guarantee voting accessibility to the disabled. Mail-in ballots and longer periods for polling places to be open increased accessibility for the elderly who can’t get out to vote without assistance, stay-at-home moms, and the rest of us who have jobs to go to on election day. In short, the historical trend of the U.S. regarding voting has been inclusion, not exclusion; improved access and ease, not added difficulty. And that’s how it should be, in my opinion.
By NIKI TURNER – editor@editorht1885.com
