Dear Editor:
Callaway County Clerk Denise Hubbard's decision to not reopen the polling location in Carrington is a tremendous disappointment and a slap in the face to 700 voters in the Round Prairie (Carrington) township. However, her decision did not surprise me.
She has, in effect, told these voters, Democrats, Republicans and Independents, that she doesn't believe their concerns about the inconvenience of the poll location and they are not important to her or the voting process. She doesn't care about inconvenience and she doesn't care about the inability of many voters that simply can not get to Guthrie.
This is simply a blatant attempt to suppress voter turnout and disenfranchise a big voting bloc of
Callaway voters. It is not about saving money. Mrs. Hubbard's feeble attempts to explain the savings just did not make sense. While invoking voter fraud during the meeting at Carrington, she could not site one instance of this occurring in either Carrington or Callaway County. The sky is not falling Mrs. Hubbard.
The entire world looks to the United States when it comes to our rights as citizens to cast our votes freely and without fear. Yet in our own county, we are seeing a gross example of restricting those rights by arbitrarily moving a poll, which has been in this area for decades, simply because Mrs. Hubbard didn't see the church when she drove through Carrington.
This is a matter of fairness, common sense and convenience. This is the United States of America. Americans fight for their freedoms each day and have since 1776. Yet in 2012, we have a county clerk who, without any input from the citizens, decides she knows what is right for 700 voters. And more importantly, she has ignored their calls to move the poll back to Carrington.
Which polling precinct will she close next?
The Callaway County Democratic Central Committee will provide free rides to those who cannot drive to Guthrie on Nov. 6. I urge all those in the Round Prairie (Carrington) township to vote absentee at the County Clerk's office if you cannot get to the polls in time or do not have a ride to Guthrie.
It's your right, and we will make certain your vote is not lost.
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