Opinion
Learn laws and vote
By Charles Dunst ’18
April 21, 2016
Tags opinion
As a New York City expat and first time presidential election voter, my Facebook feed has been filled with posts about specific political candidates and the political system as a whole. As expected for a college student, posts have included mostly pro-Bernie and anti-Trump tirades. More recently, however, posts have decried New York’s voting system as undemocratic and biased against young people and minorities. More specifically, my feed has been filled with posts claiming that New York’s closed primary and its deadlines for registration are ridiculous and evil. There is no doubt that New York’s voting laws are exclusive and unwelcoming — but not knowing them and thereby failing to vote is your fault and not some conspiracy against young people or minorities.
The Center for American Progress gave New York a D- in accessibility to the ballot. First off, New York is a closed primary, meaning that Republican and Democratic elections are not open to independent voters. Some will argue that this is simple disenfranchisement. The United States, for better or worse, is a two party system. I do not agree with Democrats on 100% of issues, but I registered as a Democrat because their beliefs most closely align with mine. As a voting Democrat, the idea that independents should be able to choose my delegate is absurd. If you want to vote in a closed primary, suck it up and pick a party. Voter registration forms had to be postmarked by March 30 or done in person by March 25. If you wanted to change your party registration, you needed to have done so by October 9 of last year. While this six- month discrepancy seems excessive, it is a New York state law, and if you cared about voting, you should have been aware. You may not like the open primary system or New York’s party affiliation laws, but if you wanted to vote, you should have known the rules.
New York has no early voting, no Election Day registration, and excuse-only absentee ballot. I saw a story on Facebook about a friend who showed up at his school in upstate New York (not Hamilton), looking to register and vote on the same day. After being turned away, he continued to lambast New York as undemocratic and restrictive. As a Bernie supporter, he complained that New York did not want the vote of a young minority Bernie supporter. New York would have gladly welcomed your vote, regardless of your race and preferred candidate, if you had read the rules, registered and requested an absentee ballot. Regardless, he continued to receive comments alleging a DNC-led conspiracy in favor of Hillary Clinton, among other things. There is no conspiracy. The laws are onerous and ridiculous, but if you intend to vote, it is your job to know them.
I registered as a Democrat when I was 17. Last year, I voted absentee in state elections. When I transferred to Hamilton, I took the initiative to change my mailing address. About a month ago, I checked my voter registration status. It is really easy and can be done by easily googling “can I vote?” Pretty simple, no? When I did not see my Hamilton address listed, I called my election center and asked them about it. They said that my absentee ballot had already been sent to Hamilton, and that I should return it as soon as possible. So, I voted in the Democratic primary and sent it back to New York City ahead of the April 18 deadline. When a Republican high school friend asked me to help him register, I did, and he successfully voted as well.
Is this process too burdensome? Yes. But for now, the rules are the rules. Sure, you may not like them, but if you want to be an involved citizen, it is your responsibility to know them. If you feel the Bern and want to take down Hillary Clinton, you should know your state’s registration rules. I would applaud you if you wanted to lead a campaign to open access to the ballot, but for now, you need to abide by the written rules. Let us be frank: getting turned away when trying to register on Election Day is nobody’s fault except your own. As a member of the Hamilton College Democrats, I can tell you that we hosted multiple voter registration and absentee ballot drives in late February and March. I am sure many similar organizations hosted similar events on campuses across the country. If you truly cared that much about your candidate, you would have known the rules, registered and gotten an absentee ballot. A failure to do so is your own fault — not the system’s.