Posts Tagged ‘presidential election’

Believe it or not, you’d only have to go back about 40 years in U.S. history to learn about something called a poll tax. Yes, you guessed it: Less than a half-century ago, people actually had to pay money to exercise their constitutional right to vote. These required payments, known simply as “poll taxes,” were enacted in eleven U.S. states shortly after the Reconstruction (a twelve-year period after the Civil War, when the South was restored to the Union), and were designed in large part to suppress the vote in minority communities.

It wasn’t until 1962, actually, that the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution called for an end to these poll taxes; and not until January 1964 that the amendment was ratified. (Further, and for the sake of historical accuracy, all poll taxes weren’t officially declared unconstitutional until 1966 when law makers determined that any such tax violated the 14th Amendment — which basically says that no individual state can deny any citizen rights that everyone else enjoys.)

So what about us? You know, the modern-day “you and me”? Do you think we still have a poll tax? Maybe not in dollars in cents, but certainly in what has become an equally precious commodity. You got it; it’s time.

So how long did you wait at the polls on Election Day to cast your vote? An hour? Three hours? Do I hear six hours? Despite a record-setting voter turnout for the 2008 presidential election, many of us paid a different type of tax, one that was measured in hours spent away from our families, our additional responsibilities, and — monetarily speaking — our jobs.

So give yourself a pat on the back for helping produce the highest voter turnout in 100 years. Sure, a lot of the numbers are still being tallied, between absentee votes and the like. But early indications suggest that the percentage of eligible voters who actually made it to the polls hasn’t been this high since Howard Taft defeated William Jennings Bryan. And that was in 1908!

So this election year, the American people voted for change. And they spoke loudly.

Now maybe the powers-that-be can start working on how to speed up the voting process; either that or declare Election Day a working holiday. We’ll have to wait four years to find out.

Tuesday’s election was a defining moment in American history, one I’m proud to have been a part of. Consider who was running: One, a naval aviator, a genuine American hero who was shot down in the Vietnam War and survived six years in a prisoner of war camp. The son and grandson of four-star U.S. Navy admirals, he returned home to launch a political career spanning 25 years and service in both the U.S. House and Senate.

The other, an unlikely standard-bearer for the Democratic Party, the African-American son of a Kansas-born anthropologist and a Kenyan father he barely knew, a U.S. senator from the state of Illinois.

Obama’s victory yesterday followed record voter turnouts by millions of newly registered young voters and African-Americans, many of whom echoed the same thought: “I never thought I’d see the day.”

Many in the black community expressed astonishment, delight and the heartfelt opinion that Obama’s victory was only made possible by those who went before him. As one woman interviewed on a New York City street said yesterday, “Rosa Parks sat on the bus so that Martin Luther King Jr. could dream. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream so that Jesse Jackson could run. Jesse Jackson ran so that Barack Obama could win.”

It took an exceptional man in exceptional times to unite a country torn by conflicting opinions about where this country is headed. And while Americans continue to have deep concerns about our role in two wars, global warming and a broken healthcare system, it was economic worries that catapulted Barack Obama to victory. His candidacy spoke to many who were asking themselves, “How will I be able to afford to send my kids to college if I can’t get a loan?” “Can I make my next mortgage payment if I pay just the minimum on the credit card bill?” “Will my savings be safe if my bank shuts down?” “Is my town going to shut down the library and cut back on school funding?” “Where do I stand if I lose my job?” The economy – in gut-wrenching terms – transcended all other issues.

As we look to the President-elect to get us back on the right path, tackling everything from terrorism and national security concerns to domestic issues here at home, he deserves our support and patience in the months and years ahead.

Are you feeling a new sense of optimism about our country’s future?