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COUNTDOWN to ELECTION DAY – Part II

COUNTDOWN to ELECTION DAY – Part II

Step-by-step we move to ELECTION DAY 2012! Absentee voting IN PERSON at clerk’s offices closed last evening. ABSENTEE VOTING by mail continues with the ballots mailed or delivered to municiple clerks next week with Friday, November 9 the mail delivery deadline. MOST ATTENTION NOW focuses on voting on ELECTION DAY – Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

Step-by-step we move to ELECTION DAY.

ABSENTEE VOTING by mail continues with the ballot to be delivered to the municipal clerk’s office or postmarked on Election Day – November 6, 2012. WI State law provides that absentee ballots mailed must be received by clerks on or before Friday, November 9, 2012. There is an exception this year for 4 ballots. The GSA agreed to provide additional filing time for the 4 ballots mailed to US military personnel LATE. The last report I heard was that 2 of the 4 have been received by the respective clerks.

This year there has been a much larger turnout for ABSENTEE IN PERSON voting in spite of the quirky action of our legislature and governor to REDUCE OPPORTUNITY for WI citizens to vote absentee in person before Election Day. WHY?! What do YOU think?

ELECTION DAY – Tuesday, November 6, 2012 starts with our WI polls opening at 7 am CST. I have been following the OFFICIAL GSA COUNTDOWN CLOCK – as I post this statement on my WE THE PEOPLE blog, that COUNTDOWN IS: 2 Days – 15 Hours – 39 Minutes – 35 Seconds. If you want to check the countdown right now as YOU are reading, the URL is: “Voter Information Center” posted by our WI Government Accountability Board.

Last Thursday, November 1, I posted on this WE THE PEOPLE blog, “COUNTDOWN to ELECTION DAY!”

I had the primary goal of providing information for readers as to practical information about voting, including the availability of ABSENTEE VOTING IN PERSON through the next day, Friday, Nov. 2. I cited the GAB’s official Countdown Clock for Election Day.

I expressed by view that I am HAPPY that the VOTER ID LAW was suspended by the courts. That was the point in that whole blog post which generated a tsunami-like wave of comments.

As I wrote, I read each and every comment. I noted some readers who keep requesting that I respond directly to the readers’ comment. I do NOT perceive that to be a productive communication. I read the comments and consider the relevance and significance of each. Each reader has a right to express her/his view. I often wish more comments reflected healthy cogitation and knowledge, but … from time-to-time, a comment is so inappropriate that it is removed by the site staff. Having seen some of the comments which were later removed by site staff, I think the site staff is going the person who wrote the comment a favor. S/he may be anonymous because of her/his pseudonym used on gazettextra.com, but frequently readers do IDENTIFY the person. Several persons have shared with me their reports of being identified by another reader. So it goes…I think comments would be more appropriate and have greater credibility of writers were REQUIRED TO PSOT THEIR REAL LEGAL IDENTITY. ANONYMOUS comments are too often irresponsible and inappropriate. Do YOU think comments on gazettextra.com should require REAL LEGAL IDENTITY?

I want to gain remind citizens of the state of WI that SAME DAY REGISTRATION TO VOTE was NOT repealed by our WI Governor and legislature! They did, however, change numerous parts of our WI VOTING LAWS! YOU should read Steven Verburg’s informative article, “Little-known change to voting law could cause major headache on Election Day” published by the Wisconsin State Journal on October 22, 2012. Forewarned is forearmed!

I want to encourage readers to read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s editorial of October 18, 2012, “Do your duty this year: Exercise your right to note: It’s the best way for citizens to have their say.”

The editorial grabs our attention stating, “Some polls indicate that voter enthusiasm, especially among young and minority voters is ebbing - a marked change from 2008. Whomever you support for president this year, it's a concern if fewer people decide to exercise their right to have a say in the political process.”

I agree with the editorial’s call to citizen responsibility, “Anyone who is eligible should vote.”

Don’t miss the statement, “Voting is the one way you can have your concerns heard. As the saying goes: If you don't vote, don't complain.” That’s the point: IF you don’t vote, don’t complain! I agree. Do YOU?

I agree with the editorial’s closing assertion, “The American political process works best when people get to the polls and make their voices heard. Make sure you do that on Nov. 6.”

Here we go…

Mr. E.

John Eyster lives in the Edgerton area. He is an adjunct professor of political science at UW-Waukesha and an advocate for democracy/civics education in Wisconsin high schools. John is a community blogger and is not a part of The Gazette staff. His opinion is not necessarily that of the The Gazette staff or management.