Texas House Bill 2390 seeks to prohibit county government from placing polling locations at any institution of higher learning located in that county. I ask all members of the Texas Legislature representing parts of HidalgoCounty (Reps. Canales, Guerra, Longoria, Martinez and Muñoz and Sens. Hinojosa and LaMantia) to oppose this bill by any means they can. The bill is a fundamental attack on the democratic process. Colleges and universities have long served as locations for polls, both on Election Day and early voting. Voting on college campuses has almost always occurred without incident. Just like a church, a public library, public parks, municipal facilities and K-12 schools where voting stations are generally located, colleges and universities are integral parts of the communities where they are located.
There is not a single good or valid reason presented by the bill’s author as to why colleges and universities should not continue to host polling places. Colleges and universities host numerous community-related events such as public forums and public speakers of various sorts, theater events, sporting events, art exhibits, blood drives, tax preparation assistance and the like. To say colleges and universities are unsuited to serve as polling locations is an undue assault on the integrity of these schools and the people who work there.
Moreover, having polling places on college campuses makes it easier for younger college students to vote. One mission (among many) of colleges and universities is to help foster civic engagement among students. Having polling places on campus helps in that endeavor.
Voter turnout rates among young citizens are extremely low, especially in the Rio GrandeValley. It is not in the best interest of our democracy or the state of Texas to make it harder for these young students to vote. The future of our democracy and our state relies on them, and we should do all we can do to facilitate their participation.
It is for these reasons I ask everyone to go the extra mile in opposing House Bill 2390.
Frederic Cady
Edinburg
Countering
spendthrifts
Ancient Roman democracy had curbs on individual economic behavior. They had a highly placed government official called the “censor,” who had two responsibilities: to enact a census, and to watch out for wealthy people who were acting irresponsibly with their wealth.
One historian writes, “The Roman Republic labored all throughout its history to curb conspicuous expenditure.” One example was elaborate funerals. Kings may have buried their family members in pyramids, but democracies buried them in simple ways to show one person is just as good as another. In Rome, personal accounts of adult “spendthrifts” were turned over to legal guardians until they could learn how to deal with income and wealth.
Many of our young American athletes, media stars, Hollywood starlets and studs, investment speculators, drug lords, corporate executives, lottery winners, heirs and heiresses come into a hoard of cash they have little ability to manage, so they spend like bandits and set horrible examples for the rest of the country. Rome didn’t tolerate that because they knew it led to monarchy and aristocracy. America doesn’t care.
Kim Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah
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