Disenfranchisement and Apathy

Super Tuesday has come and gone and I had a huge rant. As you might imagine, I am not nor have I ever been apathetic about politics and elections. When I was in fourth grade we held a mock election for the Mondale/Reagan race. We had real voting booths with the levers and everything. Similar to the national election, there were about 10 of us in the Mondale camp, but we were passionate about it. I was especially motivated by the choice of Geraldine Ferraro as a running mate. The first woman to be chosen as a running mate in a major political party--wow! I was impressed. My fourth-grade cohort was not quite as taken by this landmark occasion. I remember one boy telling me that a girl couldn't be president--no way. I told him he was simply too ignorant to understand the presidential election and the only reason he was for Reagan was because he recognized the name--what a moron! Of course I neglected to acknowledge that my own dedication to the Mondale/Ferraro ticket had more to do with my parents' liberal leanings than to my understanding of the issues--but nevertheless I admired Ferraro.

That year in school was the same year that the teachers decided that boys and girls could no longer play together on the playground in any competitive fashion. Even if the game didn't involve "boys against girls" any competition--indeed any game--was forbidden. As fourth grade citizens we were required to sign a "contract" agreeing to these rules. As one of only two holdouts for freedom and equality, I was threatened with suspension for refusing to sign the contract. Mind you, in these pre-pubescent years, I was top of my class, curve-breaker (if they had curves in 4th grade), teacher's pet. I'm sure the teachers thought that suspension would scare the goody-two-shoes right off of me. Forget it. I stood firm. They told me I wouldn't be allowed to have recess until I signed the contract. Fine. That lasted about 3 days until my mother stormed into the school and gave the teachers a verbal lashing that left visible marks. Go mom. Anyway, so I was primed for this election. Girls were equal to boys and should be allowed to do anything that boys did and I hoped Geraldine Ferraro would prove it.

What ever happened to Geraldine Ferraro anyway? It seems like in these days of "hilary-mania" some mention would be made of this political pioneer. Well Wikipedia tells me that after Mondale was squashed by Reagan, Geraldine Ferraro ran for U.S. senate and was defeated. Wow. The people of New York state are tough. Now, wiki tells me, Ferraro is working for the Clinton campaign. Huh. I have to say that I'm not a Hilary fan anyway, but the fact that she doesn't draw attention to the lady who "went first" makes me dislike her even more. Why do I dislike Hilary so? I guess I don't feel the same pioneer spirit I felt with Ferraro. She's just riding on Bill's coat-tails in my opinion.

Anyway, back to my disenfranchisement and the initial impetus for this rant. So I go to vote on Tuesday--armed with my driver's license--because that's the law in AZ. The line was ridiculous. Most people didn't have IDs or weren't on the rolls or were registered independent or undeclared and didn't realize they couldn't vote. So I felt pretty confident--I had my license with me--and my voter registration card--yes! I get to the front of the line and the woman shakes her head. I'm sorry the address on your license doesn't agree with the address we have. Oh, that's ok, I have my voter registration card right here and it has my new address on it. Sorry, that's not good enough--you need two pieces of ID with your new address--or two pieces of mail. What? But I have my driver's license--so you know its me right? And my voter registration card agrees with the information you have, right? So what are you questioning? When I re-registered with my new address, I provided my driver's license number and my old address--so couldn't we cross-reference this? I was told I could fill out a provisional ballot and then come back by Friday with another piece of mail to verify my address. I got really irritated at that point. Come back on Friday? I just waited in line for 20 minutes and you want me to come back? What's worse is you're telling me that if I had stolen my neighbor's mail and claimed to be her, I would be seen as having more legitimate forms of ID than a current driver's license!! I felt so violated--and well, apathetic. Like my vote is going to count on Friday! This is the primary for christ's sake! Super tuesday! I grumbled my way through the provisional ballot form--and --just to show them--I voted for my preferred candidate (who is no longer in the race) Bill Richardson. Ha! I sure showed them--disenfranchise me why don't you. Well, I'll just.. just.. just disenfranchise myself.

What ever happened to that fourth grader who sacrificed herself for principles?