Recently, news clips on TV showed South Carolinians arriving at their polling places to participate in the presidential primary. I was taken aback when I saw them take their wallets out to show their I.D.
It reminded me of the Iraqis proudly holding up an ink-stained finger as evidence of their voting.
I miss those days of trekking down to the voting place, running into friends and neighbors, and taking the opportunity to provide a short civics lesson to my children. It was a ritual that celebrated citizenship and freedom.
Exactly when did we get so soft that we can no longer be inconvenienced with going out on a dark, rainy night and maybe even stand in line to wait our turn, or what is insulting about showing our I.D.? It’s easy now, and the Legislature in Olympia has two bills to make it even easier yet; HB 2203, referred to as motor voter on steroids, and HB 2204, which allows registration on Election Day. Despite the ease, voter apathy remains, as does the questionable integrity of the process. Sometimes things that are easy are also of less value. Shouldn’t freedom and citizenship provide enough value to require just a little more effort on our part?
