The Justice

People become very passionate when it comes to politics and often will feel driven to volunteer, fund-raise and devote their time and energy to their candidate of choice. However, other individuals feel compelled to demonstrate their support by actually using false claims to prevent people from voting.

Unfortunately, this negative agenda has succeeded in the past. According to an article on CNN, 14,000 eligible Hispanic voters didn't take part in the 2006 election because they received letters maintaining that naturalized citizen's weren't allowed to participate in the political process. Additionally, flyers asserting that people with outstanding parking violations couldn't cast a ballot were distributed in the 2004 and 2006 elections. Those convicted with felonies have been similarly misguided. Furthermore, a slew of viral e-mails and anonymously sourced phone calls relayed similar messages to unsuspecting targets during those same years.

A friend of mine told me his father had, in fact, been subjected to an e-mail that suggested that he couldn't vote during the 2004 election because of a speeding ticket. "It was ridiculous," he said. "We never received anything like this before. We were so confused."

These acts are far more repugnant than any typical smear campaign, for they attempt to deny individuals the most essential liberty provided to us by the Constitution. This is not about Democrats winning or Republicans winning-this is about fairness, integrity and the preservation of our fundamental rights as American citizens. Those who perpetrate these abhorrent acts should be punished appropriately.

Fortunately, efforts have been made to stop these objectionable practices. The recently passed Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Act criminalizes those individuals who willingly try to mislead and disenfranchise participants in federal elections. Violators face up to five years of imprisonment as well as fines of up to $250,000.

However, catching these offenders may prove to be a tedious task due to the difficulty of tracking them on the Web and the possibility of them hiding or lying about their sources. With an election around the corner, there's bound to be an increase in these crimes.

Therefore, remember this: As long as you're over 18 and an American citizen with no felony record, you're entitled to vote, no matter what happens. No letter, flyer or e-mail should tell you otherwise. And if you do recieve an article of this nature, report it to a nearby authority. Stay alert, and realize that nothing can take away your inalienable right to contribute to our great democracy.

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