Day Two: Happy for the Right to Vote

"You can have whatever you are willing to struggle for." ~author Unknown

Today I went and exercised my right as an American to vote. While standing there making my choices, it crossed my mind that people have actually given their lives in order for me to be able to step into that little booth with a pen and a ballot sheet. Given. Their. Lives! That started sinking into my brain, and the weight, as well as the responsibility of it has stayed with me all afternoon. I am not only happy that I live in a place where I have the right to vote, I am grateful to those who fought for that and other rights secured for me, my children, my grandchildren, and future generations. Just like with all relationships, i.e. a citizen to his or her nation, a couple to one another, parents to their children, friendships, etc., nurturing, feeding and investing your time, care, and diligence in those relationships is essential to their success. Lack of attention to any of these practically assures their eventual demise. I hope all of you who can get out and vote today will do so. I am humbled by the path others took so that I could color in those little circles on my ballot sheet today and make choices that will help shape my region, state, and nation.

Some Interesting Facts About Voting

As the result of a petition signed by 30,000 women older than 21, New Zealand was the first country, in 1893, to grant women the right to vote. The next country to do so was Finland, in 1906.

On Election Day in 1920, millions of American women exercised their right to vote for the first time. It took activists and reformers nearly 100 years to win that right, and the campaign was not easy: Disagreements over strategy threatened to cripple the movement more than once.

On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was finally ratified, enfranchising all American women and declaring for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

Idaho and Utah were two of the first states to give women the right to vote at the end of the 19th century

The long debate over lowering the voting age in America from 21 to 18 began during World War II and intensified during the Vietnam War, when young men denied the right to vote were being conscripted to fight for their country.

During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt lowered the minimum age for the military draft age to 18, at a time when the minimum voting age (as determined by the individual states) had historically been 21.

“Old enough to fight, old enough to vote” became a common slogan for a youth voting rights movement, and in 1943 Georgia became the first state to lower its voting age in state and local elections from 21 to 18.

In his 1954 State of the Union address, President Eisenhower declared: “For years our citizens between the ages of 18 and 21 have, in time of peril, been summoned to fight for America. They should participate in the political process that produces this fateful summons.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, young voters (age 18 to 24) were the only group to show a statistically significant increase in turnout in 2008, despite an overall increase of some 5 million voters.

Over the next decades, the legacy of the 26th Amendment was a mixed one: After a 55.4 percent turnout in 1972, youth turnout steadily declined, reaching 36 percent in the 1988 presidential election.

 The 1992 election of President Bill Clinton saw a slight rebound, voting rates of 18- to 24-year-olds remained well behind the turnout of older voters, and many lamented that America’s young people were squandering their opportunities to enact change.

The 2008 presidential election of Barack Obama saw a voter turnout of some 49 percent of 18- to 24 year-olds, the second highest in history.

Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, and Nicaragua allow citizens as young as 16 to vote. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia let 16- to 18-year-olds cast ballots as well—but only if they’re employed. According to Guinness World Records, the only capped voting age is in the Holy See, the Catholic Church’s ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Rome. Cardinals older than 80 aren’t eligible to help elect a new pope

Rwanda had a 97.51 percent voter participation rate in its 2010 presidential election, according to the latest data from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. That’s the highest among the listed countries where voting isn’t mandatory. The U.S. only had a 53.57 percent voter turnout rate in its 2012 presidential election.

The state of Georgia’s 1777 constitution made casting the ballot compulsory among eligible voters (i.e., white male residents 21 or older). Those who didn’t participate were subject to a fine, if they didn’t have “a reasonable excuse.” The U.S. isn’t likely to follow in the footsteps of the 32 countries—including Belgium and Australia—where voting is required.  In 2012, more than 50 countries had a higher participation than the U.S. in their most recent elections.

Stealing an election is easier than rigging a Las Vegas slot machine, Steve Freeman, a University of Pennsylvania professor and author of Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen?, told The Washington Post. Nevada has access to the software used in all of the slots in Las Vegas. Software used in electronic voting machines, however, is “a trade secret.”

Sources at:

 http://www.history.com/topics/the-26th-amendment

http://www.history.com/topics/the-19th-amendment

http://www.takepart.com/feature/2014/09/20/5-incredible-things-you-didnt-know-about-voting-around-world

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