An OpEd from Jerry Weinberger
First, let me preface this by saying that – as a founding member of the National Voter Corps (an exclusively NONpartisan organization) – I am dedicated to the concept of One Person, One Vote, Every Vote Counted.
For me, voting is not – and should never be – a partisan issue; it is a (small d) democratic issue, and every American citizen should have the absolute right to vote, no matter the ultimate outcome of an election. That is the American way – a government OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people.
All that said, our voting rights have been under assault for quite some time now. Voter suppression methods have been used extensively throughout this country.
Paul Weyrich, founder of the Heritage Foundation, among other things, once famously (or infamously) stated, and I quote (emphasis mine):
”I don’t want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of the people. They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.”
My response to that is, quite simply, “I DO want everybody to vote.” When everybody votes, the will of the people is heard, and that is the meaning of democracy!!
Today, since the 2020 elections, efforts to suppress the vote have been increasing dramatically throughout many areas of our country. This must not be allowed to happen! At this time, we should all be redoubling – and redoubling again – our efforts to resist and overturn these voter suppression laws wherever and however it is necessary.
I encourage everybody (Republican, Democrat, Independent alike) to step up today and do whatever you can to promote full participation in our free and fair elections going forward, so that we may all enjoy the benefits of our system of government.
Jerry Weinberger, NVC Founding Member, Steering Committee Member; Citizen
In memory of Jerry Weinberger (1942- 2021), who started this blog.