Students Not Invited to GOP

Recently, Republicans in 32 states proposed measures requiring identification or proof of citizenship—which could be difficult to obtain—at voting polls. In New Hampshire, they want to give the right to vote to students in their college towns only if their parents have previously established residency there, and to eliminate Election Day registration. All of this is supposed to prevent fraud.
Wait, since when was voting fraud such a large issue that the voting rights of college students and minorities must be threatened?
Election officials state that voting fraud is an occasional occurrence and that these measures are the result of partisan politics. Democrats claim that since groups like young people and minorities largely support Democrats, this could simply be a way to undermine the Democratic base in many states.
While the donkey and the elephant duke it out, we’re left in the dust. As almost legal-aged adults, this attitude toward voting rights should disturb us deeply. The two parties have decided that the core issue is party support and “voting blocs,” not giving the people a voice. Call me idealistic, but isn’t that the principle our country was founded upon? I’m sure the Founding Fathers didn’t risk their lives for their descendents to squabble and fight for party control, rather than trying to represent Americans fairly.
The Republicans’ dismissal of students is also worrying. New Hampshire state House Speaker William O’ Brien justifies the measures that would disenfranchise college students by saying, “Voting as a liberal. That’s what kids do. [They] lack life experience [and] vote with their feelings.”
If that’s how you feel about students, O’ Brien, it’s no wonder they don’t want to vote for you. By generalizing all students as naive and unworthy of voting, O’ Brien alienated some Republican students as well as Democrats. But that doesn’t matter because he plans to disenfranchise all of them anyway. Anything to keep the GOP having a grand ol’ party, right?
Catherine Chiang,
Opinions Editor