The
legitimacy of government rests on the consent of the governed, so it
is imperative that the government be elected in fair, honest,
transparent and efficient elections.
When
it comes to how to ensure those types of elections, people are
divided into two camps: the "gatekeepers" and the
"missionaries."
The gatekeepers are
primarily interested in preventing voting fraud. They believe that
there must be stringent laws and regulations in place to prevent
hordes of people from illegally voting, including individuals who
are:
-
Not citizens
-
Not residents of the state or
locality
-
Registered under false names
-
Voting repeatedly
-
Voting fraudulently in any other
way
Gatekeepers propose
that voters should produce extensive identification documentation to
become registered, and again to cast a ballot.
On the other hand,
the missionaries are primarily concerned with making voter
registration and voting as accessible as possible to maximize citizen
participation. They believe that identification documentation and
restrictive voting practices only serve to disenfranchise many
voters, and that these burdens fall disproportionately on those
segments who are already most under-represented at the polls—youth,
elderly, disabled, low income and minorities.
The League of Women
Voters believes that reasonable procedures are appropriate to prevent
fraud, but the emphasis should be on encouraging maximum voter
participation by minimizing barriers to voter registration and to
voting.
While 2006 saw many
changes to election law in Ohio, and some of those changes were
positive, most of the changes have unfortunately made it much more
difficult for people to participate in the election process. Reform
is needed to create an election process that is fair and efficient
for all voters. For a list of criteria that will help ensure
well-conducted elections in Ohio,
click here to see the League
of Women Voters of Ohio 10-point program.
