Quote:
Originally Posted by detbuch
I may be old enough to be your grand father, I don't know how old you are, but I remember when election day was the day to vote. I don't know how it came to be that it was more difficult for the poor than the not poor to vote because of that. If you had a job, many employers gave a couple of hours off either in the morning or at the end of the shift to vote. And if you didn't have a job, you actually had more time to vote. And if transportation was a problem for one day, how was it not a problem for another day. And if there is a problem which makes it difficult to get to the polls either on a given day or at all, absentee ballot is available. And if you're in line before polls close, you will be allowed to vote. Which cons say that voting time should be shortened in order to prevent the poor from voting? And the voting rules have been changed before. That's not something new.
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I doubt your old enough to be my Grandfather,
but if my memory serves me right I registered to vote in 1960 when I was 21. In order to vote you had to take your birth certificate to the County Board of Elections to prove your age (21 at that time) and prove you were a US citizen. You were then issued a voting card. Polls were open from 7 am to 9 pm and people knowing it was their Right and responsibility made it their Patriotic Duty to get there.
In 74 the voting age was dropped to 18 so that our Armed Services, who were willing to give up their lives for their country had the right to vote also.