The right to vote is central to the preservation of a democratic republic. Our own country can be characterized simultaneously as a praiseworthy beacon for a representative system of government, yet also as an imperfect structure in need of desperate reform. As we work to forge a more perfect union, the University should heed the words of its excessively championed founder Mr. Jefferson: “The rational and peaceable instrument of reform, the suffrage of the people.” The University should endorse the position of a third-year Law student’s recent petition to “grant all students a full leave of absence on Federal primary and presidential election days.”
An over-reliance on the lofty ideals of an institutional founder can be dangerous, yet I think it’s important to understand that individual’s views so he can act as a guiding map for the institution’s future direction. Jefferson himself is a fascinating study in pragmatism and evolution of thought as he continued to make contradictory statements throughout his adult life. On one hand, Jefferson backed — on a number of occasions — the limitation of enfranchisement to landowning whites in order to ensure a rural republicanism. This position was influenced by his understanding of the potential problems that can come with extending suffrage to everyone, including those who are uneducated, misinformed and malleable to the whims of demagogues. On the other hand, he expressed support for “extending the right of suffrage… to all who [have] a permanent intention of living in the country.” Despite this hope to expand voting rights to a larger share of the population, he foreshadowed Otto Von Bismarck’s pragmatism while following his contemporary Alexander Hamilton in the preservation of the current laws. While an examination of Jefferson’s views does contain contradictions and indeed positions which deny to many people rights which seem so fundamental to us now, his iron belief in the power of suffrage should guide the University now.
With an election day federal holiday caught in the political quagmire of Washington, the University has an opportunity to refute the threatening ideology of some states seeking to restrict voting rights for political gain. Instead, by granting days off for primary and presidential election days, the administration would send an unambiguous signal that it truly encourages faculty and students to participate actively in the political process. Over and above the importance that seems to come from elections without an incumbent in contention, this year seems especially ripe for the University to enact policy changes that makes participation in our civic duty easier.
The freedom that comes from making it easier to exercise the right to vote also grants to those people the freedom not to vote as well. For that reason, those who claim election days do not warrant cancelling classes or that many people won’t take advantage fail to understand the true importance of suffrage. It gives to ordinary citizens the mechanism to enact progression or conservation, whatsoever the people choose. Furthermore, it should not be denigrated by partisan thinking, even when the expansion of suffrage benefits one party over the other. Instead, the opposing sides — or parties in this case — should be pitted in battle to win the hearts and minds of these newly aspiring voters with vision and commitment.
The University’s choice is clear. If it continues to champion the life and ideals of its founder with incessant mentions in speeches, on tour guides, in admissions packets and in restoration of his beloved Rotunda, then it must have the aspiration to apply those ideals in practice. Instead of reverting to standard operating procedure by issuing statements like “U.Va. strongly encourages our students and employees to exercise their right to vote” while failing to truly do it, the University should affirm its commitment with action to make it as easy as possible for students and faculty to create the elective and representative government which its founder sought to build.
Ben Yahnian is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at b.yahnian@cavalierdaily.com.
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