The party of liberty, freedom, and personal responsibility is once again rearing its ugly, hypocritical head!
Yesterday afternoon, the Oklahoma House Ethics Committee advanced HB 1515.
Introduced by anti-democracy advocate Molly Jenkins—a pro-freedum Derplahoman lawmaker from Coyle—it will add pointless, bureaucratic, and totally unnecessary steps to cast an Oklahoma absentee ballot to help ensure only “responsible” people vote.
Here are the quick details from KFOR Channel 4:
The House Elections and Ethics Committee heard a bill from freshman Representative Molly Jenkins on Monday that would require Oklahomans to give a reason for requesting an absentee ballot.
“Voting is a right that we have,” said Jenkins, R-Coyle. “This is simply a measure that will allow us the opportunity to make sure that people are being responsible.”
Yep, that’s right!
We have a state government official proposing a law to make sure people responsibly explain why they’re voting. That makes sense. Just like with any other freedom, the last thing we want to do is make voting easier… right?
In fact, I’m pretty sure it was Thomas Jefferson who once said:
“The influence over government must be shared among all the people… but only if they can provide a good reason.”
Seriously, this proposed law is awesome. Even famed democracy advocates like Putin and Xi would think this is a great idea!
Can you blame them?
I know when I’m watching the news and see a long line for absentee voting before an election—or brainstorming ways to address Oklahoma’s record-low voter turnout rate—the first thing that pops into my head is, “How do we get the government more involved and make voting an even bigger inconvenience and hassle?”
I guess my only big question is—why are we singling out absentee voters? Shouldn’t we require everyone to provide a written justification as to why—and even for whom—they’re voting? At the very least, all voters should be forced to declare their vote in front of a tribunal of elders just like the founder fathers intended.
Then again, a simpler solution would be just to cancel all elections and let rich and powerful conservatives—you know, those “responsible” limited-government folks who have made Oklahoma such a great state—determine our leaders. They essentially do that already, so we might as well save everyone time and money!
Although I think Jenkins’s bill makes a lot of sense for those who are anti-voting, some of our more liberal, pro-democracy lawmakers have a problem with it.
For example, hunky Oklahoma heartthrob lawmaker Mickey Dollens—hey, ladies!—was one of the people who voted against it in committee. Here’s his explanation:
Mickey brings up some fair points. When he creates a new Hinge profile, he doesn’t have to submit a notarized letter explaining why he’s doing it! But then again, who he takes on a date to Cheever’s on a Thursday night in his nice truck doesn’t affect the rest of us! Elections, on the other hand, have consequences—so obviously, we need to make sure only responsible folks with stereotypical conservative Oklahoma values vote in them.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see how this bill does as it winds its way through the Capitol.
My only complaint is that it doesn’t hold lawmakers to the same “responsible” standard. To help make sure they’re serious, I think we should pass a law requiring them to complete two written statements explaining why they’re running and then endure a three-day fast before filing.
If we’re going to make it harder to vote, we should also make it harder to lead.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
