We realize that this is a very tight year for the County’s Budget, but funding for Early Mobile Voting is the wrong item to cut. The County Judge and Commissioners voted this week to cut Early Mobile Voting stations for all 2010 elections. Because of this, there will be no early voting at UTEP, EPCC and at area churches, synagogues and businesses that traditionally encourage citizens to vote. In March there will be a very important Primary Election when we will select candidates for county judge and two county commissioner slots. With the current Judge and two Commissioners up for reelection, the Court could be accused of trying to suppress voter turnout.
Mobile voting is a big part of increasing voter turnout through the early voting strategy. Last fall over 7,000 voted at these mobile sites. Many were young, first-time voters, the future of our community and state. Elections Director Javier Chacón told the Commissioners that his office’s goal has been to “get participation up” and predicted that there would be “a lot of angry people” if voting sites were eliminated. Judge Cobos answered that “the accessibility is there,” but the “desirability to vote is not.” Judge Cobos and the Commissioners’ Court don’t get it -- the right to vote and the exercise of that right is critical to democracy. Anything that takes away from that harms the democratic process and is inherently wrong.
The Commissioners’ vote will need to be finalized on Monday morning when they approve the County’s 2010 budget. If it is not reversed, Early Mobile Voting is apt to be a thing of the past. For the sake of $42,000, thousands of El Pasoans will have to travel longer distances or vote on Election Day all next year. How many of them will the Commissioners discourage?
Last month, Border Interfaith and EPISO joined with the Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Chamber to sponsor a session to discuss corruption in El Paso. Under the auspices of the Citizens’ Commission for Best Practices in Government, the 200 residents who attended the event shared possible solutions for discouraging unethical behavior. They recommended, among many strategies, promoting citizen involvement and holding elected officials accountable. This week’s Commissioners’ vote seems to be a huge step in the wrong direction.
As stated by forum panelist Rev. John Stowe, Catholic Diocese of El Paso and EPISO leader, “It’s bad enough to hear about backroom deals . . . and to read about a series of indictments, waiting for the next bird to sing and the next public name to be dropped. But it is the disenfranchisement of the ordinary person, who feels that he or she has no say in their future because they have no place at the table and no voice when decisions are made, that creates a pervasive culture which just accepts that this is the way things are done, that it’s not what you know but who you know--and if you want any say in the matter, 'money talks.' "
We must act because this sort of “cost saving” at the risk of discouraging voters goes against the goal of “good government.” Please attend Monday’s Commissioners Court meeting at 9:30 am on Monday and call or email the Judge and Commissioners at 546-2000. Representatives of EPISO and Border Interfaith plan to be there.
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Larry Bach is the Rabbi at Temple Mt. Sinai and a past Co-Chair of Border Interfaith. Carmen Castroena is a member of Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church and a current Co-Chair of EPISO.
