Showing posts with label vote. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vote. Show all posts

June 22 - Voting Age Lowered

Posted on June 22, 2021


This is an update of my post published June 22, 2010:



On this day in 1970, President Richard Nixon signed a bill that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. This bill was passed because, as the nation struggled through the unpopular Vietnamese War, people said that, if 18, 19, and 20 year olds were old enough to die for their country, they were also old enough to participate in the elections that would help set policy, including foreign policy.


Earlier in the year, I discussed some people's ideas about lowering the voting age even lower. If you haven't already read it, you might like to take a peek and see if you agree.


There is now a push to lower the voting age to 16.

Some people argue that 16- and 17-year olds might not have
enough knowledge to vote responsibly.

But people who think a vaccine turns people magnetic 
are allowed to vote, and people who think that contrails
(condensation or vapor trails produced by aircraft engine
exhaust) are actually mind-control chemtrails sprayed
on us by our government - they, too, are allowed to vote.

So...."knowledge" isn't a pre-requisite for voting - and even if
it were, I would assume that 16 year olds, as a group, would
compare just fine to adults.


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June 15 – Native American Citizenship Day

Posted on June 15, 2017


Well! 

Even though several websites (which probably use each other as sources - so forget the plural) claim that today is Native American Citizenship Day, I cannot see a good source for this.

But!

When I was checking to see if this is really a special day declared or observed by anybody, I discovered some shocking facts about the U.S.

Did you know that Native Americans were not considered citizens across the board until June 2, 1924?

That's even though thousands and thousands of Native Americans (from 10 to 13 thousand!) fought for the U.S. in World War I.

(Admittedly, those individuals who fought in WWI and were honorably discharged were given the right to vote.)

Did you know that some Native Americans, even though they were citizens, were still not guaranteed the right to vote until 1965??

Yiiiiikees.

Of course, I know that racist folks with power have been trying to, and unfortunately succeeding at, suppressing votes in minority communities. But I didn't realize that it took all the way until 1965 for the federal government to weigh in with states who were actively denying Native Americans the right to vote.

The way the British settlers and the U.S. government
has treated Native Americans has been mostly
shameful.


By the way, there have been more than 70 cases brought to court since 1965, with Native Americans complaining that their right to vote was denied. Luckily, courts tend to be more fair than society in general, and in most of these cases the citizenship rights of Native Americans were upheld. 

But it's shameful that it continues to be a struggle for so many!



Also on this date:



























































(Third Thursday of June)







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February 14 – League of Women Voters Day

Posted on February 14, 2017


Today is the anniversary of the 1920 founding of the League of Women Voters. You might know that 1920 was the first year that women U.S. citizens won the right to vote. This organization formed in order to help women take advantage of that right, and to use their votes wisely.



The League of Women Voters is nonpartisan, which means it doesn't particularly support the Democratic, Republican or any other political party. However, the organization tends to support progressive stances on issues, and it sometimes lobbies or advertises on behalf of, say, clean air or the formation of the United Nations.

The LWV holds registration and get-out-the-vote events. It also used to sponsor presidential election debates, but in 1988 every one of the LWV trustees voted to pull out of the debates because the major party campaigns were making such demands that, the trustees said, the American public would be "hoodwinked"!


When I was younger, I used to consider LWV stances on proposed new laws very seriously before deciding how to cast my vote, because I considered the organization to be very reliable. It probably still is reliable, but I have to admit that the internet has given me access to bunches of other opinions, so I don't pay as much attention to LWV picks.

By the way, you might assume that the League of Women Voters would only have women as members -- and that used to be true! But ever since 1973, men could join as well.
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