Voting Reform as a Secondary Mission

HVA Home

by Scott Menzies, Co-Founder of the HVA 

    Election reform is not the most exciting endeavor one can take on.  It isn't exotic, terribly interesting, nor acute in the same way hunger, strife, or endangered species are (at least not until election day rolls around, at which point it's too late).  Yet, as social organizations working to make a better America, public policy defines the atmosphere within which public benefit organizations are able to work, and how they are able to help make a better America.  With that in mind, it would make sense that organizations of all kinds should be spending a portion of their efforts ensuring that they are able to work within an atmosphere of public policy that allows them to fulfill their primary missions as efficiently as possible.  They must work to ensure that an atmosphere is maintained that will allow their messages/missions to be heard and to compete fairly.

    The concept behind the secondary mission is that there are certain broader issues that affect the primary interests/missions of individuals and organizations in one way or another, and the above describes how voting reform falls into this category.  Excepting citizen initiatives, everything we do or work under as residents of the United States is defined by policy created either by individuals we elected into office or individuals appointed by those we've elected into office.   There is, then, very little in our lives that is not affected by something that could be traced back to whom we vote into office.

    It would make sense, then, that we should be working to ensure that our voting process is clear, fair, and reflective of the will of the voting populous.

    For this reason it is my contention, and the contention of the Humboldt Voters' Association, that organizations really should consider taking on voting reform as a secondary mission until a voting system is in place that we can all have complete faith and confidence in.  At that point, we will have one less obstacle to face in getting our messages out to the public and in getting those messages reflected in public policy.

    Does this mean you must spend hours of your organization's valuable time participating in voting reform?

    Absolutely not.  A simple endorsement, a show of support, relaying important messages from the HVA to your staff and volunteers to keep voting reform in the forefront of their minds is all it takes.  During election periods, your organization could send a small delegation of interested staff and volunteers to observe the counting process or work the polls.  You could host presentations by the HVA on voting reform for your staff and volunteers.  By taking such small actions, you show that your organization is interested in making sure all organizations and individuals have their fair say.  

    Jeanette Rankin, the first U.S. congresswoman, left social work for women's suffrage.  She saw how important it was, and how it related to what she was doing in social work.  I do not believe we all need to leave our primary missions to ensure voter confidence, but we do need to see, as Jeanette Rankin did, that, in the end, it all comes down to the vote.