The ballot box is the soul of democracy

Lanesboro, MN

A year after the Solomon Islands became independent from Great Britain in 1978, my wife and I went to the Melanesian country in the South Pacific as Peace Corps volunteers assigned to three small villages on north Guadalcanal.  And the following year when provincial elections came our villagers walked to the polling station from their villages along the gravel road in the 90-degree heat to vote for the very first time.  

Because many Solomon Islanders were illiterate, the various candidates had cultural icons on the ballot assigned to them identifying their candidacies.  One candidate was identified by a Coconut (a major crop that people made their living by making copra); another by a Canoe (a means of travel for many in a country with more than 200 islands); another by Taro (a food crop grown by most villagers and served on special occasions); and so on.

On a normal day, our neighbors in the village went topless in the tropical heat, men and women alike.  You would see them leaving in the early morning carrying a machete and something to eat – some cassava or plantain – to work in their jungle gardens, returning to the village to rest during the heat of the day.  

But on Election Day, they were dressed with the only nice clothes that they owned as if they were going to church:  the women in skirts with blouses, the men in pants and shirts. Some carried a huge banana leaf to shield them from the sun; others a store bought umbrella.  Many women carried a child wrapped in a sarong around their shoulder. All of them were barefoot because they didn’t own shoes. 

When I read about the so-called Big Lie and efforts being made to restrict voter access across America, I think of these villagers who waited most of their lives to live in an independent country and have the right to choose their leaders.  Democracy is at best an ugly business, but these actions today have a malevolent quality about them.  They seem nothing more than an effort to restrict voter turnout and influence the outcome of an election.  It’s as if some Republicans want us to go back to our founding days when only white male property owners could vote.  

More than 361 bills that would restrict voter access have been introduced in 47 states (Brennan Center for Social Justice). Some would limit mail-in voting, change ID laws (Minnesota), limit early voting, and eliminate same-day registration. These efforts have nothing to do with election integrity (there was no voter fraud in 2020).  The ballot box is the soul of democracy.  Without it we are at the mercy of oligarchs and emperors.   

It was a solemn procession on that day more than 40 years ago, one I will never forget – the heat of the road, the glimmering sea, and the sway of coconut trees on the landward side, when the men and women of New Horabau, Ndui Ndui, and Vataculau went to vote for the first time.  They were determined, inspired, and proud to be building their nation.