Voting Matters

I was disturbed by a recent letter justifying the fraud perpetrated by a local Rock the Vote front in Isla Vista and asserting that students should only vote in their “home towns.”

The actual Rock the Vote encourages people to get involved in their communities by voting. As a former college professor, I can tell you how important the four years of university life is — it’s where students develop their adult sense of self and engagement with the world. Their college town is their community, and they have every right to participate in all aspects of it — just as would anyone moving to a new community, who might then choose to move elsewhere later on. (Think of our service people at Vandenberg, who are often transferred after a few years.) Many students stay after graduating, precisely because they do feel that sense of connection. Some outstanding examples include our current congressmember, Salud Carbajal, and his predecessor, Lois Capps. Voting builds that sense of connection.

The real issue here is voter suppression. When you lie to people and tell them that their insurance rates will go up if they register locally, or that they will face criminal charges for registering where they go to school, you are engaged in voter suppression.

Bruce Porter misappropriated the Rock the Vote brand, then lied about it and only started making excuses when caught. Do we want someone like this — who will commit fraud — as a county supervisor? No, thank you.