Catch-up on Rotary, Sep 2, 2014
Catch-up with Rotary
A donation was made to the Marana Food Bank, Director Linda Hampton accepted. We love the Food Bank and all the work they do in our community.
Mike Swart who was a member of the Rotary Club of Marana and left has been re-inducted as our newest member. Welcome Mike – Mike is the owner of HMS Bicycle Shop, 8225 N Courtney Page Way, Suite 145, Marana, AZ 85743
Our very own Don Jorgenson, was our speaker he talked about voting and how important it is. What he had to say was so interesting. I am going to just add a few facts that he said.
How many presidents won election despite losing the popular vote? 1824 (Adams-Jackson), 1876 (hayes-Tilden), 1888 (Harrison-Cleveland) and 2000 (Bush- Gore). When were Americans guaranteed the right to vote? Contrary to popular belief, the United States’ Constitution did not originally guarantee citizens the “right to vote” The United States was created with the understanding the only certain individuals would make the decisions when it came to government.
14th (1868) Amendment – all persons born within the U.S are citizens and guaranteed rights and privileges.
15th (1870) Amendment – No citizen denied the right to vote based on race, color or previous condition of servitude. Intended to give freed slaved the same privileges offered to the white majority in the U.S. but there was a literacy test (these tests excluded under-educated Americans from voting). There was a grandfathered clause (which permitted men to vote if their father or grandfather had voted prior to the 15th Amendment (another way to exclude many)). There was a Poll Tax (fee to be able to vote).
19th (1920) Amendment – Constitution granted American women the right to vote. This was voted in but states still had to approve. Wyoming was the first state to allow women to vote in.
What nations still prohibit women to vote: Saudi Arabia and Vatican City. In 2015 Saudi Arabia women will be able to vote because of a 2011 royal decree.
Why do we vote on the first Tuesday after a Monday in November? As a country, we’ve been doing this since 1845. You would be surprised to learn that many people (including elected officials and candidates) have no idea why we vote on the first Tuesday after a Monday in November. November represented the first month when farmers might have time to travel to a city to cast their votes.
Travel times also played into the decision to make Tuesday the day for voting. If overnight travel was required to get to a polling place, Monday was out of the question as Sunday was a day of worship for most Americans.
And what about the strange stipulation that election day is “the first Tuesday after a Monday in November? What prompted that very specific limitation? It’s all about faith. November 1st is “All Souls Day” (All Souls Day is a holy day of obligation – which means Catholics will be expected to be in church).
Don finished by talking about how voting has continued to decline in fact there has been below a 60% turnout in every presidential election since 1964. Voting is both a right and responsibility as a citizen.