Des Moines Register. November 2, 2018
Participating in democracy is a family value. Iowa parents can show its importance.
Parents teach children to brush their teeth, tie shoelaces, drive cars and open bank accounts. We share with them our religious beliefs and values. We tell them to be nice to others, wear seat belts and get to work on time.
The midterm elections represent an opportunity to teach our kids to be active participants in our democracy. If you haven’t already voted early or absentee, take your kids with you to vote on Tuesday.
Young kids can accompany their parents to polling places. The experience helps them understand that each person plays a role in our electorate and that voting is not a daunting process.
If you have an adult child, help make sure they get to the polls to vote themselves. Or help persuade friends who are on the fence about voting. It doesn’t matter if they haven’t registered. Iowa allows same-day registration, meaning qualified residents can register and vote on Tuesday. (Most states require voters to register by a deadline generally falling between 8 and 30 days before Election Day.)
Those seeking to register will need to prove identity and where they live. The best option is a valid Iowa driver’s license with their current address, but there are other options for qualifying documents listed on the Iowa Secretary of State’s website.
Part of the “fear factor” for voters of all ages is the feeling of being unprepared to choose the right candidates. Parents can download sample ballots from their county auditor’s website and have children help them research unfamiliar candidates before heading to the polls. Helping parents do their “homework” will help youngsters understand the responsibilities of citizenship.
Of course, participating in a democracy is about more than just voting, and Election Day offers an occasion to talk with your children about government. Help them make connections between the actions of lawmakers and school safety, climate change, the cost of college and access to health care. Explain that taxes are not evil, but the way to fund schools, roads and parks. Encourage them to read newspapers, news websites and other credible source of information, think critically and form educated opinions on issues and candidates.
Like young people all over the country, many students across Iowa walked out of school earlier this year to protest gun violence.
The protests were an exercise of their First Amendment rights. But achieving change takes more than joining a fired-up rally of their peers.
The rest of us have a responsibility to help young people understand the best way to speak up about government is by casting a ballot, and that ballot helps decide who lands in office and who crafts the policies and laws that affect all of our lives.
In the spirit of making voting a family activity, Iowans can also take their elderly relatives to the polls. Any voter who needs help marking a ballot due to a physical disability can bring a person of their choosing to help them. (This individual cannot, however, be an employer, an employer’s agent or an officer/agent of a union). If someone wants help from a precinct election official, two officials (one from each political party) will assist them.
Curbside voting is available for people with disabilities who are unable to enter the building of their polling place. Election officials will come to the car, and a voter can mark the ballot from the vehicle.The Secretary of State’s Office has a handy online Election Day FAQ with useful questions and answers.
Nearly 30 percent of the 2.2 million registered Iowa voters did not vote in the 2016 election. All of us can play a part in helping turn out more of our family and friends this year and in years to come.
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Fort Dodge Messenger. November 4, 2018.
Make your voice heard at the polls
Those who vote will help shape the future of the nation
Election Day is almost upon us. On Tuesday, those citizens who choose to vote have the opportunity to shape the future of our community, state and nation. Given the impact American policies have almost everywhere in the world, it is really no exaggeration to say that the voices of this country’s voters are heard all over the planet.
Many of the decisions voters will make that will shape the future of the nation, our state and local communities.
Amazingly, many people choose not to vote. That poses a serious threat to our democratic system. American governmental institutions won’t work as intended if citizens fail to express their preferences by voting.
Even in presidential elections, commentators deem a turnout “great” when as many as 70 percent of the eligible voters show up to cast a ballot. In off-year elections, like this one, it is not unusual for well over half those who could have voted to stay away from the polls.
Here in the Hawkeye State there are roughly 2 million registered voters. Unfortunately, it is likely that many of those Iowans who could vote in this year’s election will fail to do so.
Many theories have been advanced to explain why people don’t vote.
Some political scientists say one of the biggest reasons is that nonvoters claim the outcome of elections doesn’t have an impact on their lives. It also is common for people who don’t show up at the polls to justify their choice not to participate by arguing that their vote won’t really matter because so many votes are cast.
If you are one of those who think that individual voters don’t matter, it may be useful to reflect a bit on history.
In the 2000 presidential election, if a few more people had showed up to vote in Florida, George W. Bush might now be known primarily for his service as governor of Texas. In 1960, the presidential vote was so close that the outcome was decided by about one vote per precinct nationwide. Right here in Iowa, in the 1998 Democratic primary, Tom Vilsack won his party’s nomination by less than two votes per precinct.
A few nonvoters could have altered subsequent history mightily.
More troubling is the belief some people hold that who wins will have no impact on them personally.
That notion may, in part, be the product of living in a country where democratic institutions have been the norm so long that people assume they always will be. The only guarantee that those institutions will survive, however, is citizen vigilance.
Over time, such nonparticipation undermines the legitimacy of the governmental system. It becomes hard to claim that officeholders reflect the will of the public when so many people had no role in their selection.
On Tuesday (or earlier if one makes use of Iowa’s convenient early voting option), we all have the chance to demonstrate we understand that the right to vote is precious.
Defend your democratic birthright by voting in this year’s election.
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Quad-City Times. October 30, 2018
Kirk, Kinzer, Maxwell right for county board
When Carol Earnhardt and Diane Holst decided not to run for re-election to the Scott County Board of Supervisors, that set up a scramble for the three seats on the ballot this year.
On the Republican ticket are: John Maxwell, of Donahue, a dairy farmer and member of the North Scott School Board; Bettendorf Alderman Scott Webster, a small business owner; and Carla Williams, a former Davenport council member and a social worker and mental health therapist.
On the Democratic side of the ballot are: Rogers Kirk, a pastor from Bettendorf who has served on a variety of local and statewide boards; Ken Croken of Davenport, who has held a number of executive posts, including at Genesis Health System and currently TAG Communications; and incumbent Supervisor Brinson Kinzer, of Blue Grass, who is a former mayor and works as an electrician.
The county board generally is considered one of the best run of the local governments in the Quad-Cities. With a relatively low tax rate and few controversies, the board has mostly gone about its business with little attention.
For the most part, that’s a good thing, though we believe the county could have more convenient meeting times and should move faster to broadcast its proceedings.
We’ve been impressed with most of what we’ve heard throughout this campaign season. The candidates all seem to realize that providing mental health services is a growing challenge for the county, that keeping taxes low is a goal, as is providing adequate services, and promoting economic development is an important function.
Today, we are endorsing Brinson Kinzer, Rogers Kirk and John Maxwell. We believe that the three of them, with current supervisors Ken Beck and Tony Knobbe, will ably represent all of the parts of Scott County.
In our discussions with Kinzer, he brought a stay-the-course approach to the board. He is careful with resources but also supportive of the county’s approach to the state legislature on mental health issues, which is to lobby for greater authority to fund these needs. With his experience in city government in Blue Grass and his support of working people, we believe Kinzer deserves another term.
We have watched Kirk work in our community for years. As the longtime pastor of Third Missionary Baptist Church in Davenport, he has been a positive force for good in the community. Kirk also previously served on the state Board of Parole, an experience we believe would surely be of use in dealing with the issues facing the county jail.
Kirk also has been clear he would like to see the board change the time for its Committee of the Whole meeting (currently, 8 a.m.) so more people can attend. That’s a good idea.
We also were impressed with his concern for shrinking rural parts of the county.
Maxwell’s service on the North Scott School Board and his widely visited dairy farm have given him prominence in the rural part of the county, which is valuable for the board. So is his his view on the preservation of farmland, as economic development grows beyond city borders. His view that expanding the sources of revenue for mental health needs beyond just property taxes, is also welcome, though we believe additional property tax authority in this area will be inevitably needed.
We also saw in Maxwell someone who will look for efficiencies in how the county is run. Our impression is that Scott County operates pretty lean, but we believe that his business and government experience will be valuable.
As for the others on the ballot, we’ve seen Ken Croken advocate throughout the campaign for a more robust role for the county board. There is a lot to be said for his view. Croken has rightly pointed out that the Quad-Cities is not growing as fast as other parts of the state.
We hope he continues to make his voice heard, and not just on the economy but his advocacy for mental health courts, too.
Webster’s attention to budgetary detail, meanwhile, makes him the kind of public official that one would hope for. Too many elected officials just leave it to staff. And Williams has a great deal of knowledge about how mental health issues have an impact in our areas. No matter what happens Nov. 6, we hope she continues to make her voice heard.
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Dubuque Telegraph Herald. November 4, 2018
No excuse to skip Tuesday’s vote
Looking for reasons to skip voting in Tuesday’s midterm election?
Let us help you count the ways.
. The office of U.S. president is not topping the ballot. (That’s why they are called “midterm” elections - the president is midway through his term.)
If you aren’t weighing in on who will occupy the White House, why bother helping decide who will represent you in the halls of Congress, governor’s office, state legislature or courthouse?
You aren’t alone if you stay home Tuesday. Barely half the eligible voters in Dubuque County, for example, voted in the past two midterms, compared to more than nearly three-fourths in presidential elections.
. It’s hard to find the time. Being able to cast ballots weeks in advance - in person or by mail - or during a 13- or 14-hour period (depending on state of residence) on Election Day? Not good enough. Demonstrate your objection by staying home.
. Showing an ID. Two-thirds of the states have some sort of requirement that voters present IDs at the polls. Wisconsin’s law is considered strict, while Iowa’s new requirement is less so - and allows voters without IDs to cast provisional ballots and have it sorted out later. Illinois does not require an ID.
While we disagree about the necessity of IDs to ensure fair and honest elections, we also note that we’re constantly presenting IDs for other purposes - from cashing a check to picking up concert tickets to buying a six-pack.
But having to show an ID to exercise a freedom that people in other countries die for? Well, that is far too much to ask.
. Others will take care of you. No need to vote. Your friends, neighbors, relatives and people across town - they all think exactly like you. They have the same needs and concerns. Surely, they will vote the same way you would have - had you gone to the trouble. After all, the “right” candidates always win, correct?
So, if you need a reason - let’s call it what it is, an excuse - not to vote in Election 2018, you can have your pick.
However, if you have any interest or concern about who will represent you in elective office, it would be better if you find your ID and find your way to the polls on Tuesday.
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