I thought the idea was that we should have as many eligible voters vote as want to vote.

   Part of the concept was not to make registration as difficult as possible.

   Part of the concept was not to change rules of eligibility to eliminate persons from being able to register.

   Part of the concept was not to reduce the number and location of polling sites so as to raise the degree of difficulty to that of a walk on the four-inch-wide bar (maybe it is six; you get the idea) in the Olympics.

   There should be a concerted effort to register eligible voters. There used to be such an effort. I worked the Democratic Party tent at the Howard County Fair when I was home for the summer during college. We registered people to vote. The Republican Party tent, as I recall, did the same thing.

   Indianapolis Mayor Ballard’s office announced polling sites for the primary election on May 5. Polling sites have changed for some people. If you have a question about where to vote, call 327-VOTE.

   In order to vote in Indiana, a person needs a state-issued form of identification. Usually that is a driver’s license. The State of Indiana also issues citizens’ IDs. There should be a concerted effort by the parties to help voters who have difficulty getting the birth certificates and any other documents necessary to vote. Either party should have the forms necessary to request those documents, get them request forms to any individual who requires the form, and be willing to provide transport to any such individual to a license branch for the photo and issuance of ID.    

   The county parties charge slating fees for judges. The question of the legal propriety of that matter aside for a moment, why not use the fees to transport voters to the polls? The parties could rent a couple of vans each for the day, have a hot-line (a/k/a cell phones of ward chairs) available, and get people who need rides to and from the polling sites.  

   It is about time we got out the vote!