Abrianne Rhoad/Red&Black

Amendment 26 of the U.S. Constitution states that the right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote shall not be de-nied or abridged by the U.S or by any state on account of age.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 makes it illegal for any state or local government to discrimi-nate against racial, ethnic and language minority groups by denying them the right to vote.

Under federal and Pa. law, if you cannot enter the voting booth or use the voting system due to a disability, you can se-lect a person to enter the vot-ing booth with you to provide assistance, with certain excep-tions.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

The Student Newspaper of Washington & Jefferson

College

E S TA B L I S H E D 1 9 0 9

VOL. CIV ... NO. VIII.iiRed & BlackT u e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 06 , 2012W a s h i N g T o N , P e N N a .

Electoral College Map2012 Election Climate

Map template courtesy Paul-Henri Gurian, University of Georgia, modified by Abrianne Rhoad/Red&Black

Numbers based on a weighted average of state polls . Last updated Nov. 3

Red & BlackELECTION DAY 206 November 2012

Red & Black

Dear W&J stuDents, faculty, anD staff,

this is a reminDer to vote [toDay]—no mat-ter What the Weather! Polls are oPen until 8 P.m. as americans We have a sPecial oPPor-tunity to voice our oPinion anD elect those Who leaD us. Please exercise that right. your suPPort of a canDiDate means noth-ing unless you vote. this election is going to be tight, so your voice is imPortant. your vote Does make a Difference. let’s strive for

100% voter ParticiPation at W&J!

sincerely,Dr. tori haring-smithPresiDent

Letter to the editor: Why You Should VoteI am writing to you regarding the article entitled “Presidential Election Soon Approaching,” which appeared in an earlier edition off the Red&Black, attempting to dissuade potential vot-ers from heading to the election booth on Nov. 6. The article attempted to answer the question “what’s so good about voting?” I write to you today in hopes that you will publish this letter, which sheds light on the faulty anti-voting logic in “Presidential Election Soon Approaching”, and hopefully encourages readers of the Red & Black, students, faculty members, and staff alike to cast their votes this upcoming election day, because there are in fact many good things about voting.

“Presidential Election Soon Approaching” first claims that “you don’t get to choose the candidates, not really.” The support-ing evidence in favor of this argument is that “no real difference between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney on the issues that should really matter to Americans” exists. While I have my own political opinions, the point of this letter is not to persuade people to vote in one way or another, but to vote in general. Surely one thing that democrats and republicans can agree on is that there are fundamental differences between the two parties. If the can-didates were essentially the same, why do they debate, represent different ideologies, campaign, and why would we even need an election?

It is inevitable that two politicians will disagree on every topic, but Obama and Romney differ on a wide range of social issues, including abortion and gay-marriage, which are equally regard-ed, if not even more highly regarded as “issues that really matter to Americans.” Similarly, both candidates differ on healthcare, military spending, taxes, immigration amnesty, gun control leg-islation, foreign policy in the Middle East especially with Israel and Iran, the federal budget, education including response to “No Child Left Behind,” domestic oil drilling, social security, and this list is by no means complete. As “Presidential Election Soon Approaching” mentions, yes there are issues that Romney and Obama agree on, but it is to be expected that both of them would support national security measures, regardless of their political affiliation, because these measures are put in place under the Patriot Act and in American airports to ensure the safety of American citizens.

The next argument for the anti-voting attitude the article is that “voting doesn’t allow you to affect legislation.” Elections are put in place so that citizens can elect candidates they feel

will best implement the legislation they find most important. While “Presidential Election Soon Approaching” is correct in that voters have no guarantee whether or not candidates will do the things they promise during their campaigns, the notion that voters “lose all control” is false. The control is manifested in the election process itself. Term limits of four years exist for the presi-dency, and if a president has not enacted legislation the way voters wanted, their recourse is to vote them out of office. With this pressure, candidates must, and they do listen to the electorate.

The last reason the article offers against voting is that laws make little difference. Have we forgotten the legislation passed that ended segregation and slavery, allowed women to vote, and established a minimum wage and standards of labor among hundreds of other laws as well? Can

one honestly say that these laws, passed by the U.S. government have made “little difference”? To say so is not just demonstrably false and irresponsible. Though we might take for granted many of the luxuries of being American citizens, we must be reminded of the laws, prod-ucts of our government and the electoral process, that exist to protect our rights and our freedoms. The article also states that, “laws can be struck down by the next administration.” While a new administration may wholeheartedly disagree with a federal law, they alone do not have the power to repeal it without approval from Congress. The separation of powers, including the three separate executive, legislative, and judi-cial branches outlined in the U.S. Constitution, safeguards against the kind of fantastical hegemonic president the article imagines in “Presi-dential Election Soon Approaching.”

If the system was completely broken as the article suggests, how would we fix it? The answer is by voting.

Voting allows us to have a tangible influence in our government and in our own lives. Towards the end of the article you are advised that if you “really wanted change, you’d respect the people around you enough to do it through purely voluntary means.” I do respect the people around me, the members of this college community, my fel-

low citizens, and even cynics of the voting process. This is precisely why I took the time to write this letter encouraging you to take advantage of living in a democracy, where you do have an extremely important role in the political process. You have the right to voluntarily cast your vote. Regardless of your political affiliation, I encourage you to research candidates at the local and national level, to decide what you believe in, and to vote accordingly. Talk about these important issues with the people you care about, and do not be disheartened by people with different opin-ions from your own or from cynics. If you have not made arrangements to get home and vote on Election Day think about it. Know that just as you have a stake in the future of your country, it has a stake in you.

Heather Painter ‘13Red&Black Contributor

“Regardless of your political affiliation,

I encourage you to research candidates... to decide

what you believe in, and to vote accordingly.Know that just as you

have a stake in the future of your country.”