Voting: A Right Now a Privilege 

 

 

Ronald Reagan once said, “For this Nation to remain true to its principles, we cannot allow any American’s vote to be denied, diluted, or defiled. The right to vote is the crown jewel of American liberties, and we will not see its luster diminished.” 

Yet there are laws in place that legally allow a voter’s voices to be taken away, including purging, voter ID rules that exclude traffic violators, college students, and other citizens. There are other small ways though, that are not even thought about that hinder voting like long lines or malfunctioning voting machines. 

 

According to govtech.com, Tennessee is one of the hardest states to vote in. Shelby county, better known as Memphis, Tennessee, seemed to experience a bulk of problems this mid-term election. “We have a 15-year history of election problems. But this one is silly season. It’s just one thing after another,” said Steven Mulroy, a law professor at the University of Memphis. According to Pew Research, voters reported that their machines weren’t functioning properly, for example the wrong candidates were appearing on the wrong ballots. Like Republican governor candidates appeared in place of Bill Lee on some ballots. Voter tampering was in full effect around the country, for example in Florida machines were unplugged. Georgia faced tampering as well and with candidates that were being watched like Andrew Gillum and Stacey Abrams, every vote mattered and had to be counted. But with faulty equipment or tracking systems, there is no true way to make every voice count. Indiana has tried to develop a fool proof method of voting counting that could be implemented around the country. They still use paper ballots and they have to be sealed shut, so just in case the machines go down there is still a way to count votes. 

 

In Middle Tennessee, the major problems were with college students who wanted to vote. Most do not have a state issued ID or license. Therefore, it is hard to cast a vote. Another problem is that they are registered in their home county and go to school in another county. The rules for an absentee ballot say that you have to have submitted for one, seven days before an election. Then there are just some who do not know what to do at all. So Representative Jim Cooper created a graphic that was supposed to help explain how to properly vote, but it was just as complicated as the rules (see chart below). A student must register to vote in person before an election or have voted in a previous election before that they are permitted to mail in a ballot, as stated in the absentee voter registration rules of Tennessee. Senator Jeff Yarbro said, "it's critical that people establish that they are who they say they are to vote.” But there is hope because he is one of two representatives that are making it priority to address this issue. Senator Steve Dickerson is also speaking up for college students. 

 

If citizens truly have the right to vote, why make it so complicated to cast ballots? Each year when it’s time to vote, there is always a problem that hinders voters from getting their chance to make their voice heard. In this year’s election in particular, it was the glitching of the machines, voter ID issues, and people finding out that they have been purged only when they arrive to vote. It is almost comical that at the end of the election period all of these factors start to come down on voters, particularly minorities. It has gotten to a point to where enough is enough. However, the very sad reality is that the people are being held back from doing what they are entitled to do, which is vote. Voting is a right, but it seems that since it became a right for all Americans, more stipulations have been put into place to turn this right into a privilege. There are several problems with voting this mid-term election hit many college students the hardest. From feeling discriminated against, to being told different things as to how they can vote, these students entered the polling places confused and feeling as if their vote really doesn’t matter. “When my friends and I got to the polling place the line was very long, but it seemed to be moving,” said Bria Anderson, senior at Middle Tennessee State University. “But when we got in line, two men that worked the polls came out and told us it would be at least forty-five minutes to an hour before we’d make it in and that we should try another polling place. We decided to stay anyway and it only took fifteen minutes.” Anderson and her friends are a group of African American college students. She felt that she and her friends were discriminated against because of their race. “I really felt like they didn’t want us there, which is one of the main reasons we don’t go vote,” Anderson expressed. 

 

On the other hand, some white college voters seemed to have the opposite experience while voting. “I really enjoyed voting. It was my first time and it went fairly smooth,” said Victor Zito, a junior at Motlow State Community College. “When I first got there the line was long but it moved quickly and the workers were so helpful. They came out and walked the line to tell us what we needed to have ready when we entered the polling place,” he continued. While intentional or not so intentional racial discrimination took place during voting, another major issue was the confusion of what applied for a valid photo ID. Some Tennessee college students stated that when they registered to vote on their college campus, they were told that their college ID could stand as a valid ID to be used for voting. Unfortunately, when they made it to the polls they were put to the side because their college ID could not be accepted. Tennessee is one of the fifteen “strict voter ID” states. A strict voter ID state is a state that would reject a ballot if the voter can not present a valid ID that falls under a specific criteria. According to the Tennessee State of Secretary website, a valid photo ID is classified as: any Tennessee driver’s license with a photo, a United States passport, a photo ID issued by the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, United States Military photo ID, and a Tennessee handgun carry permit with a photo. College student IDs and photo IDs not issued by federal or Tennessee state government are not accepted. The specific criteria for what photo IDs were acceptable was a very apparent misconception for college students this mid-term election. 

 

A MTSU student offered her opinion on what could be done to change that for elections to come. “When we registered to vote, we should’ve been given a pamphlet or something stating all the stipulations that comes with voting,” said Ryan Rogan, a junior at Middle Tennessee State University. “For many of us, it was our first time voting so I felt like we were basically just thrown in the fire to figure it out for ourselves but it could’ve been much simpler if someone had explained the ins and outs of voting to us,” she said. 

Voters ran into their fair share of problems during this year’s mid-terms, with most of the backlash falling on college students and minorities. From voting machine malfunctions to miscommunication on what qualifies as a valid form of ID, Middle Tennessee voters were still determined to let their voices be heard at the polls. It will take some time to work out all the kinks of the day-of voting issues, but citizens have taken the first step by getting out to the polls to be a part of the change. In the midst of all the confusion, there was a bright side to this year’s mid-term elections for Tennesseans. 

 

According to an analysis by the political data group TargetSmart, Tennessee’s early and absentee voting totals increased tremendously since the 2014 mid-terms. The analysis showed that 98,000 people aged 18 to 29 voted early compared 13,000 in 2014. Early voting totals were very similar for other age groups. This comes as a breath of fresh air as Tennessee was ranked 40 in voter turnout for the 2014 election term.