This letter to the Star Tribune from a election judge gets closer to gist of the senate vote recount than all the rehashing of various charges being thrown around in the rest of the paper. [Emphasis mine.]
Kudos to Jeff Davis ("Why is it easier to vote here than it is to register a boat?" Nov. 9) for the luxury to be able to afford and register a boat and to haul it around in his SUV. As a Ramsey County Registration election judge over the past five years, I have seen firsthand the challenges in providing the necessary documents to register to vote.
Lack of even the $18 to change an address on a state ID, or the fact that renters do not receive an electric or water bill, make the voucher system a savior for those who wish to partake in their democratic right.
Economic hardship and unstable residency should not prohibit someone from having his or her equal say in the election process. I am proud to live in a state that works hard to assure the right to vote to all eligible citizens.
BETHANY WHITEHEAD, ST. PAUL
I happen to know a young couple who, through no fault of their own, had three different residences between September 1 and election day. If they had shown up in their new precinct to vote, three days after they moved in, they would have nothing to show they were properly there.
They work three jobs between them. After paying rent and a damage deposit at their new place and moving in, they certainly didn't have the time or the $36 to go change their driver's licenses before the election.
I honestly don't know who they might've voted for, but I can imagine who Jeff Davis, Michael Brodkorb and Fritz Knaak were worried about them voting for.
The voter fraud issue is a smokescreen set up by a party that knows the working poor and the elderly are dangerous because they are likely to vote for candidates who stand up for their interests.
Sadly, the number of these voters is going to grow. If Republicans focused on helping them, maybe they wouldn't have to be so concerned about suppressing their votes.
