Local voices: Why all votes must be counted

Now that this milestone Election Day is behind us, we can celebrate the enthusiasm we have seen by voters who with determination to make our democracy work, braved the weather and lines and the coronavirus pandemic to stand in lines all over the nation to cast their votes, and in record numbers voted early and mailed in their ballots.

As I pen these comments, I do not know what results will finally be reflected in this election, but we all should be committed to insuring that every vote that was cast is counted to insure that in the nation as a whole and in every state, the ultimate certified winners should fairly and accurately reflect the will of all of the voters. We may know or believe there are indicators or projections, but during this unique election year, we must understand that we may not in every case have the final results due to the astounding number of mail in ballots that people around the nation have mailed in. We must be patient and understanding as must all the candidates. Our Democracy demands no less.

Hopefully by the time you read these comments, we will have a good idea of the final results, and cause for celebration if our preferred candidates prevailed, and understanding and respect for the results if our candidates did not. That, at least, is the way it should be in this country that I hope we all love, where we have come to expect the transfer of power based on the rule of law and the certified results of elections all over the nation.

Regardless of how this election turns out, there are many challenges that need to be addressed that have come to the surface in recent times and during this election season. They are significant and serious and demand our attention and the attention of leaders in Washington and at the State and local levels all around the country. Where voting is a special right and privilege we enjoy as Americans, I am saddened by what I have seen and witnessed on so many levels.

We should all, regardless of our political differences, want to cherish our right to vote which our veterans have fought for and died to protect, and for which we should extend our thanks next week during Veterans Day. We should want that right to vote to be enjoyed by every American citizen without restriction. It should be easier, not harder, to vote for all. The right to vote should be facilitated not manipulated. It should be expanded, not contracted or suppressed. No one should be intimidated in any attempt to dissuade or affect how or whether or when people vote. The beauty of our democracy is we have the freedom and opportunity and the right to make our choices known whether on candidates or issues. Nothing should stand in the way or impair those rights.

During the last several weeks, and in recent days, we have seen attempts to limit how or when people can cast their ballots or when or whether those ballots can or should be counted, regardless of extenuating circumstances like our current pandemic, or regardless of unique personal circumstances such as disabilities.

These attempted limitations and restrictions are a disservice to our democracy. In many situations, these restrictions or voting hurdles have been contrived by partisan legislative bodies or activists in litigation which have often been sustained by our courts and our Supreme Court. Of further concern has been the attempted intimidation of voters by overzealous partisans. This must effectively be stopped, so that voters can in all future elections proceed to vote without such interference. We need to have universal national standards adopted in the Congress and Senate to protect against such actions and the patchwork of different hurdles which in effect disenfranchise voters around our nation, or if need be, to even consider a new Constitutional Amendment that prevents impairment of voting rights by any person or any State.

As for individual Voting Rights, we have seen the evolution of same through our country's history, correcting many of the limitations imposed by our Founding Fathers, adding amendments on the right to vote regardless of race, then sex, then eliminating poll taxes and later extending voting rights to all 18 and older. We saw the Voting Rights Acts of 1965 expand voting rights further where there were patterns and practices of voter suppression against African Americans and further expansions to protect minorities with different languages and then more protections added for elderly and people with disabilities. Unfortunately the Supreme Court struck a blow to the Voting Rights Act in 2013 in the Shelby case saying states and localities no longer had to submit changes to election laws to the US Justice Dept for review, leading to state and local officials to continue to add voting suppression barriers across the country to this date. This needs to stop, and such voter suppression must be eliminated. The Congress in 2019 passed HR 4, a revitalized Voting Right Act under the leadership of the late congressman and Civil Rights leader John Lewis, which has laid dormant in the Senate - held back by Leader Mitch McConnell.

The nation needs to see voter suppression end, and we need to speak out to demand passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Hopefully we will be seeing a newly constituted Senate where such action can come to fruition.

In connection with the needed actions to protect our voting rights, those rights should not be manipulated by long-standing partisan gerrymandering, where politicians in backrooms are creating voting districts to give individuals and parties undue advantage. This, in effect, is the politicians picking the candidates who will prevail based on the lines drawn rather than creating districts in a fair, open and transparent manner where the voters can elect their preferred candidates based on their own evaluation. This practice is pervasive in many parts of the nation and needs to be addressed. In Illinois, there have been several attempts to seek Independent or Fair Maps, only to have them impeded by the powers in Springfield. Such redistricting only happens after each census. The attempt to get a Fair Maps proposal on the ballot to effect the imminent redistricting fell to the wayside and was not acted upon with the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. Nevertheless, we as citizens and voters in Illinois should speak out and demand an objective, transparent process in the short term to ensure that we have voting districts drawn that are fair and reasonable and compact and contiguous without splitting towns or other areas and devising crazy, partisan lines merely to help elect a particular candidate.

Last but not least in the voting arena, there is something that we all as voters have control over: Our continued participation in all elections to the maximum extent possible. Though we can be proud of our participation in this recent milestone national election, such participation is generally not too impressive in many of our other elections at the local level. The turnout is generally pretty low, which means that a relatively small percentage of the population is determining who is serving in the many local leadership positions that impact our daily lives in our communities and our schools and other local government bodies. I urge all to take an interest in these local elections. They are important too. We can all make a contribution by continuing our important involvement in voting which we learned or were reminded about in the recent election. I urge all to stay involved, stay engaged and keep coming out to vote. Please also speak out and work for the many needed changes and reforms to protect and enhance our precious right to vote.

• Elliott Hartstein of Northbrook is a former village president of Buffalo Grove.