Modernize our voting system in Pa. to increase turnout

Kudos to The Mercury for its Jan. 13 editorial “It’s time to make voting easier in Pa.” The editorial points out that voting in Pennsylvania is more difficult than it need be.

The right to vote in free and fair elections is what differentiates a democracy from less representative forms of government.

As a nation, however, we did not start out by meeting such a high standard. Our country has amended its Constitution to extend the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude (Amendment XV), sex (Amendment XIX), and youth at 18 years of age (Amendment XXVI). Is there any reason to believe that additional improvement is unneeded?

In a perfect world — perhaps that of an idealized 19th-century village — all citizens would vote at a specific polling station, on a proscribed day, during defined hours. Our society is more complicated today. For many, the exercise of one’s civic duty on Election Day is secondary to other demands on precious time.

If the United States is to remain true to its creed regarding the right to vote, the 19th century should not be the model. Instead, let’s modernize the system to facilitate, not restrict voting.

Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The elective franchise, if guarded as the ark of our safety, will peaceably dissipate all combinations to subvert a Constitution, dictated by the wisdom, and resting on the will of the people.”

The Mercury’s editorial on voting is spot on; our legislators in Harrisburg should facilitate, not hinder through “the Keystone State’s long history of impediments” the ability to vote.