Burning the Reichstag

14 July 2004



Homeland Security Officials Consider Postponing Election

Officials at the Heimatschutzministerium (Department of Homeland Security in Oldspeak) have asked the Justice Department what legal basis there could be to postpone November's election in the event of a terrorist attack on the USA. It appears that some sort of legislation may be required since there is no federal agency that regulates federal elections. If the Feds want to do such a foolish thing, they shouldn't do it in a foolish way. One expects that they will.

Since the request comes from Tom Ridge's department, the entire idea should be taken with a very big dose of salt. Heimatschutzminister Ridge trots out every month or so and announces that there is a new threat to the nation and it is worse than before 9/11. Then, he says there is nothing specific, and the Crayola Threat Meter remains a lemony yellow. The man has cried "wolf" so long that he is the only person in Washington with less credibility than the CIA. Indeed, it is dangerous to let the government consider postponing elections merely because of a terrorist attack. The nation voted in 1864 despite the Civil War, which was a damn sight worse than the collapse of the Twin Towers.

However, one also must acknowledge that localities that are attacked do not provide appropriate circumstances for the exercise of the franchise. September 11, 2001 was primary day in New York City. There was a brief delay while the fire was extinguished, and then, the voting went ahead. This suggests a useful guideline to any such postponement in future.

Responsible legislation would give the governor of the state in which the attack occurs the authority to request a delay not to exceed 21 days, and the president may accept or reject the request, similar to federal disaster relief. The election could only be halted in the congressional district or county in which the attack occurs, whichever is smaller -- Wyoming is a single congressional district, but an attack on Cheyenne won't disrupt voting miles away in Gillette. This means that only the closest of elections would be disrupted and only if the attack occurred in a marginal area. And the media may have to resist reporting the results from other states lest terror victims suffer the further annoyance of disenfranchisement.

It is doubtful that America's enemies can hit the homeland between now and election day. It has been almost three years since the Al-Qaeda murders occurred, and there has been nothing since. Prudence suggests that the next four months are a time of extra sensitivity. However, after a small act of terror in 1933, the burning of the Reichstag, Germany decided it could do without elections for the duration. It is not always easy to see just where the slope gets slippery, but in this case, it is painfully clear.


© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.


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