Recently a video highlighting the plight of a veteran, who was disenfranchised by Arizona’s broken voter registration system, went viral. The response to the disabled veteran’s story by elected officials and the legacy media was both shocking and disappointing.
Howard, the visually impaired 70 percent disabled veteran in question, served his country dutifully in the U.S. Marine Corps. Upon retirement, he had a successful career as a trucker, risking his life on a regular basis to deliver goods to the American people.
Howard’s service to the nation did not end when he had turned in his driver’s license in exchange for a State ID in 2021 due to the loss of his sight. He continued to serve his country by dutifully voting in every election, until he was denied that right by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and the bureaucrats for whom he provides cover.
“In a fully developed bureaucracy there is nobody left with whom one can argue, to whom one can present grievances, on whom the pressures of power can be exerted. Bureaucracy is the form of government in which everybody is deprived of political freedom, of the power to act; for the rule by Nobody is not no-rule, and where all are equally powerless, we have a tyranny without a tyrant.” ~ H. Arendt
As veterans, we find it to be unacceptable that a combat veteran, who served his country and fought to preserve our right to vote, has had his right to vote canceled due to the actions of anonymous bureaucrats, inadequate programming, and the elected officials who facilitate their failures.
To add insult to injury, “journalists” such as Jen Fifield with Votebeat.org and Jeremy Duda of Axios snidely served up the bureaucrats’ version of events rather than act as members of the fourth estate, who are supposed to “comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable.”
Our system is supposed to be designed to ensure that our votes are safe, secure, and free — not one which is confusing, complicated, and operated by bureaucrats that blame the voter when the system they cobbled together at great expense fails.
A system that disenfranchises a combat veteran or any eligible voter is not what we fought for.
Sergio Arellano, Robert García, Alexis Jacquez, and Martin Ulises are combat veterans who continue their service to the nation through civilian volunteer activities.
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