The Right to Vote is an Inalienable Right

Every US citizen,- excepting (in some states) convicted felons,- has a right to vote. That is what the law on the book says. But if Florida 2000 is any indication, that is not always the case in actuality.

According to this report, what happened in Florida in 2000 is hardly history. The voter disenfranchisement continues apace. I have seen isolated reports of this activity coming from a variety of sources. The People For the American Way report provides a country-wide study of this phenomena.

According to the report, minority disenfranchisement has as of late been predominantly the domain of Republicans as minority voters are more likely than not going to vote against them. Some seem to make little effort to make a secret of their intents regarding the minorities.

This summer, Michigan state Rep. John Pappageorge (R-Troy) was quoted in the Detroit Free Press as saying, “If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough time in this election.” African Americans comprise 83% of Detroit’s population.

Now, I am not a partisan observer here. I would be equally livid if Libertarians, Democrats, Communists or any other party made any attempt to tamper with the democratic election process. As it stands, it appears that at this point it is mostly Republicans who are doing it.

And before I sign off,- the following is a petition urging Republicans to put an end to this ignoble practice.