Aiya Iluvatar

Why Same-Day Registration Matters

Yesterday, I heard a discussion on NPR with a member of our state’s (Wisconsin) legislature discussing why he expects legislation to end same-day voter registration to be passed in the next session. While I have been somewhat ambivalent about Voter ID, I have no question about the great value to our state of same day voter registration. Why?  It’s because I am an experienced chief poll inspector, and my experience leads me to not trust state poll lists. My opposition is closer to libertarian than liberal. Let me explain.

First of all, my experience. I’m a chief poll inspector at a large polling place with three wards in the City of Waukesha and have served since 2008. We have around 3000 registered voters in our poll books. At a general election, we employ about 11 poll workers in addition to myself. I know from experience what I am talking about when I speak of who is coming to register and for what reasons on the same day.

The stereotype I hear from pundits opposed to same-day registration is that those coming to register are “lazy” (as if that’s a disqualification for voting) and are not performing their civic duty by registering at city hall within the specified dates. While there are no doubt some people who fit this description, same-day registration is not primarily designed to cater to these needs. It’s designed to make sure that everyone who is qualified to vote on election day gets to do so, even if the government has messed up.

Time after time, election after election, there are database problems. I’m not pointing fingers here - voting databases are large and unwieldy and constantly changing. No matter how good the software is, there is always going to be error from input and from problems matching data. In addition, there has been redistricting, which plunged our wards into chaos for two elections. On top of that, there are periodic purges of the state database for various reasons, some administrative, some of apparent political motivation. What this means is that people who registered years ago at city hall, have not moved or changed their name, and voted at the last general election were not in the poll books in November. They were not lazy nor at fault in any way. They were victims of administrative errors or intentional purging. Same-day registration allows us at the polls to deal with issues like these immediately. It is simply not tenable to tell someone who has the right to vote, "I'm sorry, you can't vote today even though you are qualified because someone made a database error."  Currently, If they are not in the system, we can re-register then and they show up in the books at the next election.

I have heard people argue that we should just allow people who don’t show up in the books to cast provisional ballots, which would need to be verified with proof of residency at city hall within seven days of the election. But if those that advocate for this are claiming that same-day registration causes delay and difficulty at the polls, just wait until we have to deal with hundreds of provisional ballots. They require multiple inspectors, sealed envelopes, signed ballots that violate voter confidentiality, and a host of other problems. In addition, it could create a huge amount of uncertainty on election night when you have thousands of statewide ballots that may or may not count for up to seven days after the election. That many provisional ballots would create a workload for understaffed local clerks that would be overwhelming in the week following the election, especially if recounts occur. With same-day registration, clerks have until the next election to get the new registrants sorted out and into the database.  

Same day registration is simpler, more cost-effective, and avoids the spectacle of people being turned away at the polls by inspectors who are not professionals.  Voter fraud is simply not a significant problem.  Someone attempting to vote multiple times through same-day registration would be caught by matching of ID or SS# during later reconciliation and forwarded to the District Attorney. 

Those who are currently advocating repeal of same-day registration are putting a huge amount of trust in government and their information technology systems. It’s a strange thing to hear people who usually advocate for “small government” to be saying that we need to put our trust of one of our most sacred rights in the hands of a centralized, automated bureaucracy and remove the most flexible, local way to deal with governmental errors. The result of this legislation would do nothing to increase the reliability of our elections, but would ensure that people who are qualified to vote are turned away on election day due to no real fault of their own. Legislators - how would you like the press of an 80 year old Waukesha grandmother turned away from voting due to a law you passed? It is for this reason that I hope that any such legislation will never see the light of day.

David+

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My October/November Newsletter Article:

“Every person should place themselves under the authority of the government. There isn’t any authority unless it comes from God, and the authorities that are there have been put in place by God.” Romans 13:1 (CEB)

Dear Beloved People of God,

As we head into election season full throttle, I know many if not all of us are exhibiting “election fatigue.” After watching the first presidential debate last night, I wonder if Jim Lehrer was not an archetype for all of the American people at this juncture, trying to make sense of it all and succumbing to the constant bombardment. It’s helpful to remember that this is probably not the nastiest election in American history. Most historians give that honor to the 1800 election between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, which involved salacious personal slander from both Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. Still, it seems overwhelming. We are tempted to throw up our hands and just “check out.” One might ask, “What does my vote matter? It’s only one of several million.” Alternatively, a Christian might claim that since Jesus’ kingdom is “not of this world,” that deciding to not vote in the election is in fact a vote for Jesus’ kingdom by refusing to participate in “worldly” politics.

When I consider these arguments, I go back to Paul and his statement in Romans quoted above. Context is important. Taking in the full corpus of Paul’s writings, Paul is not making the argument that ALL authority is just and instituted by God, nor is he saying that people must obey unjust or immoral orders. He is making the argument that the fact that we have civil authority is part of God’s creation. Paul is writing that God created us for ordered community. The Greek echoes language of military formation: each person must take their “appropriate place.” And what is our appropriate place?

I believe God is agnostic about how we order ourselves. God doesn’t care whether we order ourselves as a monarchy, a democracy, or an anarcho-syndicalist commune. God cares about how government stewards his beloved creation. How does government enable or prevent us from doing what the Lord requires? The essence of that is, as the prophet Micah states, “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

For most of human history, some form of monarchy has been the dominant form of government. The Old Testament tells both in favorable and unfavorable terms the transition of Israel from a tribal confederacy to a monarchy. King David is simultaneously the hero and anti-hero of this transition, with Saul and Solomon playing supporting roles. The Old Testament was often quoted to support the idea that kings reigned by the will of God - the “Divine Right of Kings.” The role of the subject in such a government was simply to obey. In a famous scene in Shakespeare’s “Henry V,” the disguised Henry travels among his soldiers the night before the battle of Agincourt. He gets into an argument with one such soldier, Williams, over the culpability of kings. Williams states,

“But if the cause be not good, the king himself hath a heavy reckoning to make … if these men do not die well, it will be a black matter for the king that led them to it, who to disobey were against all proportion of subjection.”

But things are different in a Democratic Republic as we have. We have no hereditary monarch whom we hold to be a representative of God on earth. Instead, civil power is vested in elected representatives. That sometimes beneficial, sometimes terrible power that a civil government holds traces its origins ultimately to our consent. Williams’ protest does not apply to us, because we do not have a king. We, in effect, corporately ARE the king. Williams’ appropriate place was as an obedient soldier to what he considered a divinely-appointed (but not infallible in his thinking) monarch. Our appropriate place as we have ordered ourselves is in the voting booth.

Most American citizens have the right to vote. I believe as citizens of the Kingdom of God we have the obligation to vote. Voting effects the fate and livelihood of millions of people both inside and outside our nation. For us to not take our part in those determinations is to decline to take our appropriate place. Our Christian values should definitely influence our voting to bring about a better world. We should strive to bring it more closely into alignment with the values of the kingdom without using Jesus as an electoral prop. If one finds oneself unable to make a determination between candidates, perhaps casting a blank ballot would be a reasonable form of protest. But to not cast a ballot is to abdicate our individual portion of “kingly authority” to the powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God.

Yes, American politics is nasty right now. But they’ve always been nasty. Yes, we’ve lost civility. But we’ve lost and regained that before. There is always hope. There is hope in the human spirit. Later in their lives, Jefferson and Adams became fast friends again through some very moving correspondence. We as citizens of the Kingdom of God have even more to hope, because we have hope in the Holy Spirit, that person of God who moves through and around and in us. But for the spirit to move, we must be willing to move as well.

Think about it. Pray about it. Then get in there and vote.

Acts8: Come Labor On

A Labor Day post of mine for Acts 8 Moment.  Excerpt:

In Benedictine spirituality, manual labor isn’t just about avoiding idleness. It has its own benefits. It involves the hands and the autonomic parts of our minds so that we can pray more clearly. It’s not uncommon to find people talking about how their most fruitful times of prayer are doing laundry, or washing dishes, or knitting. Having something to do with the “busy” parts of our minds gives the more meditative parts of our psyche room to work.

via www.acts8moment.org

Dork Tower - Curiosituous

Collect for the Day of Prayer for the Sikh Community

I composed this prayer for use in our diocese this Sunday, using some Sikh imagery but trying to remain respectful of Sikh feelings around not having ritualized mourning.

Prayer for the Sikh Community
Uses imagery from the Kirtan Sohila, which is the Sikh prayer for the evening also used at funerals

Eternal God, every day you look after and behold all that you have created. Our world is engrossed in sin and evil. In the midst of the tragedy suffered by the Sikh community, we cry out to you for solace. Comfort the bereaved, heal the wounded, and move us to compassionate action to transform our communities so they may reflect your eternal peace. Send your spirit throughout the world, that all peoples may be gathered as your children, sharing in your divine light which pervades us all.

(Christian Ending) All this we pray in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, who is the Prince of Peace. Amen.

Standing with the Sikhs

Dear Beloved People of God,

As most of you probably know, a horrific event took place at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek last night. A lone gunman, now identified as someone with ties to the white supremacy movement, entered the temple and began a shooting spree that killed six and critically wounded three before he was himself killed by a police officer. While many questions have been asked about who the Sikhs are and about some very ironic possible confusion with Muslims, the horror of the situation cannot be mitigated by any rationalization. One of the problems of the talk about confusion of Sikhs with Muslims is that while it helps us make sense of the tragedy, it also says something to the Muslim community - namely that if it had happened to them it might be all right. It is not all right. Aggressive violence is never all right. Hate is never acceptable. Not here, not in Wisconsin, not anywhere where the name of Jesus is known and honored as the name at which all knees should bow.

When Jesus confronted violence, he put his listeners inside the situation. When he stood up to those about to stone the woman caught in adultery, he said, “Let those without sin cast the first stone.” Once the perpetrators were inside the situation, the stones dropped from their hands. Our reaction to this action cannot be one of an outsider looking in. We are challenged by Jesus to think of what this would be like if it had happened at St. Matthias, and to react accordingly. To paraphrase Donne, no person is an island in a world beloved by God. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for us.

We are still in the early phases of shock and reaction. Grief, anger and pain intermingle as we try to wrap our minds around the horror and heroism of yesterday. Statements from the Wisconsin Council of Churches and the Interfaith Council of Greater Milwaukee are forthcoming. Prayer is the best way to help at this time, as these organizations with pre-existing ties reach out to the Sikh community to find appropriate and sensitive ways to show solidarity and help them mourn.

As followers of our crucified Lord Jesus, we stand with any who are victims of violence. Today, we stand with the Sikh Community, and our prayers are for them. But in a greater sense, our prayers are not for "them,“ but for ”us," as we are all God’s beloved creations, and we are all diminished when hate rears its diabolical head to create fear, chaos, and destruction.

I will let you know as I have any information of ways to help beyond prayer, which is our best gift to them right now.

David+

#MainlineSummer and the Ecumenical Autumn

One of the challenges from the movements in the #mainlinesummer, including #acts8, #dreamumc, #dreampcusa and others is how to re-envision our denominations for the future. Whatever those visions entail, I believe they will all include one common ingredient - ecumenism. For those of us who are not ecumenical wonks (and I know that I’m in the less than one percent for being one) “ecumenical” is a word that creates yawns. It brings up visions of long, tepid joint Thanksgiving services. But the future of our churches will be ecumenical for two reasons. One is a glass half-empty, the other is a glass half-full.

The glass half-empty reason is because we can literally no longer afford to walk apart. In the sixties, we could afford to each build high-rise denominational headquarters in major cities and employ hundreds of staffers as our churches built out in the ’burbs. In our time, as denominations shrink down to more historical levels of membership, we are all faced with budget cuts that threaten important ministries. What better way to continue these ministries than to walk together where we can! Do we all need separate denominational health plans? Do we really need completely separated national youth ministries? What about disaster relief? These separate programs used to be tools of competition between our denominations, but they are rapidly becoming ministries that simply cannot stand unless we find ways to cooperate. What about co-locating denominational headquarters? Could not support staff and office equipment contracts be shared? As the corporately-ordered denominations continue to implode, ecumenism is becoming a reality of survival rather than a polite sideline.

But let’s spend more time on the glass half-full, shall we? Jesus prayed in his high-priestly prayer that we might be one. Wow, we’ve really screwed that one up. But we are in a time of opportunity. There are those that have talked about an “Ecumenical Winter,” since we as Christians don’t get mainstream recognition for ecumenical progress like we used to a century ago. No one is handing our Nobel prizes these days for ecumenical work. But I don’t agree with that. Dr. Tom Ferguson, AKA the Crusty Old Dean, has written that we are in an “Ecumenical Autumn”. (His articles are excellent on this, find the first part here.) This is not the dead time, it is the time for harvesting the rich fruits of the Faith and Order movement in order to prepare for winter (see glass half-empty) and then a spring.

Most of the mainline denominations are either already in full communion, in interim eucharistic sharing, or are moving towards such measures with multiple dialogues. There is a web of full-communion being weaved between these denominations who (at best) looked at each other with suspicion a century ago. In addition, simply spend some time with Millennial Christians. Most of them accept other Christians from other denominations as brothers and sisters and don’t understand why we are kept apart on Sunday mornings. In some ways, Faith and Order is rushing to keep up with something that is already happening on the ground, which is something that seems to me to be a movement of the Holy Spirit. We stand on the cusp of a great movement to make Jesus’ high-priestly prayer real.

There are those for which this is very unsettling. Many think ecumenism risks loss of identity. But I would counter that it does just the opposite. The process of reaching full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America forced us as Episcopalians to do some very in-depth theological work, especially about the Episcopate, that we might never have done otherwise. We know better who we are because we entered into dialogue with another. In the decade that agreement has been part of our life, Lutherans and Episcopalians have come to learn and value each others’ gifts and respect our differences while working together for the Kingdom of God. We have not become less Lutheran or Episcopalian. I think we have become more so. But we have learned to embrace Christian sisters and brothers from another cultural background and tradition and to value what they bring to the table. We have learned to recognize what makes us each unique in the one holy catholic and apostolic church while also discovering the vast treasury of the faith we share.

As we move forward into the #mainlinesummer, I am convinced it will be defined by the Ecumenical Autumn, preparing for a hopefully short winter before a new spring of the Holy Spirit.

The Rev. David Simmons, ObJN

David is the Communications Officer for Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical and Interfaith Officers, and is the Chair of the Unity and Relationships Commission of the Wisconsin Council of Churches. His personal website is frdavid.org.

Update from General Convention Part Deux

It’s been a very interesting General Convention. This somewhat cynical GenXer, along with most of my cohort here, have been absolutely astounded at how things have gone. My generation generally does not expect change to actually happen when push comes to shove, but we got it in spades and by overwhelming majorities. In addition, the spirit of the convention has been completely different than previous ones. Despite some bumps in the road, there has not been a spirit of division and anger as in other conventions. In both the House of Bishops and House of Deputies, those who rise in opposition to various resolutions have been careful to thank the work of their colleagues and acknowledge that their voices were heard if not heeded. To be honest, this probably has to do with the absence of the four “breakaway” dioceses that are no longer in the Episcopal Church. During previous conventions, they would not attend our joint worship and held their own services off-site. While I wish those voices could still be with us, I think that once you have made the choice you cannot worship with people you disagree with, you have decided on schism and division. Thus this General Convention is the first meeting in years of an Episcopal Church fully united in worship, which is the basis of all our unity as Episcopalians and Anglicans. The changes that have been passed are sweeping, including (just to name a few):

1. Creation of a task force representing the wide diversity of the church looking at ways to restructure the Episcopal Church above the diocesan level that will report to the next General Convention. It has been given wide latitude and is required to include people who are currently not involved in governance of the church, as well as people under the age of 40. This passed unanimously in both houses, which is a pretty amazing statement of the mind of the church that things have to change.
2. A budget that requires cuts in all departments, but keeps governance running until the work of the restructuring task force can report and the next General Convention can take up their recommendations.
3. Statement of an intent to move our denominational headquarters out of our skyscraper in New York to a more cost-effective location and to dispose of the property in whatever way is most fiscally responsible.
4. A provisional rite for Same-Sex blessings that allows for a unified general pastoral response in places where the diocesan bishop authorizes it. It was passed with a minority report that details conservative concerns and that states explicitly that no one should face censure for either supporting or opposing it.

The other interesting development has been the “Acts 8 Moment,” based on the section of Acts around Phillip and the baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch. This movement coalesced around three bloggers who began to talk to each other about the future of the church. They are Tom Ferguson, the Dean of Bexley Hall Seminary and former Ecumenical Deputy to the Presiding Bishop (known in the blogosphere as the Crusty Old Dean), Scott Gunn, the executive director of Forward Movement (Think Forward Day-By-Day but very tech-savvy) and Susan Snook, a parish priest and blogger who helped the church through its budget morass. Through Twitter and Facebook, the Acts 8 Moment intends to become a grass-roots movement for the spiritual renewal of the church, as well as both supporting and challenging it while it struggles to restructure. I am very excited about the possibility of this movement.

Most of us came to this convention wondering if this ship could turn before hitting the iceberg. While nothing is fixed yet, it appears that the entire church sees the iceberg, and would like to avoid it, and that’s a necessary first step. I am going home today with a sense of hope that the Episcopal Church is alive and well, and could be a powerful force for spreading the Gospel in the future.

David+

Update from General Convention 2012

I have not blogged since arriving at General Convention except to endorse Frank Logue, but there’s a pretty simple reason. It takes days for General Convention to gear up and start doing something interesting. The first few days are organizational and the various committees begin to churn out the legislation that both houses will act on. GC has acted on all sorts of things, including a resolution to sell our denominational headquarters in New York and presumably move elsewhere. But its only now that the serious stuff begins to hit the houses.

And of course, the biggies today - resolutions about transgendered individuals and same-sex blessings. Both houses have now passed the resolutions adding “transgendered” to the list of characteristics that the church cannot use to deny access to the process for ordained ministry. This really is a no-brainer for me. Psychologists have recognized the reality of transgendered individuals for a long time, and it seems right to not deny access to the process due to something that is something integral to a person’s identity.

The Same-Sex blessing liturgy has only passed the House of Bishops today, and will have to be passed by the House of Deputies in order to be implemented. So what does this mean if it passes in its current form? (The Deputies could reject it, or they could amend it, in which case it would need to go back to the House of Bishops.)

1. It would take effect on Advent 1, 2012.
2. It is a “Provisional” rite, meaning very experimental for the next three years. Approval of it does not mean it is on track for inclusion in the Book of Common Prayer. In addition, its use has to be approved by the bishop of a diocese, who sets all guidelines.
3. It has language in it that states, "no bishop, priest, deacon or lay person should be coerced or penalized in any manner, nor suffer any canonical disabilities, as a result of his or her conscientious objection to or support for the 77th General Convention’s action with regard to the Blessing of Same-Sex Relationships.”
4. It is intended primarily as a way to standardize diocesan-developed rites that are already being used in states that allow same-sex marriage or civil unions.

The version of the motion as it stands at the time of the post is here.

The discussion today was impassioned, but very respectful. It was far from the vitriolic stuff that has been seen at other General Conventions over this issue. It appears that the House of Bishops has worked very hard to build its relationships so that this issue is framed as a disagreement within a family rather than a clash between opposites. People were pleased and disappointed with the decision today, but it didn’t feel like armageddon as other debates over this issue have been. In my opinion, the struggle over the triennial budget and proposals for restructuring will probably be more impassioned over the next several days.

For those reading from the Diocese of Milwaukee, I do not have any information as to how this would play out in our diocese. Bp. Miller made known his position in a blog post before GC, but has refrained from saying what he will do until he could see what the actual final legislation looked like and consult with his clergy.

To read more about Same Sex Blessings, there’s actually a really good article at MSNBC.

I will post more information about what’s going on here as I get it.

My endorsement for Frank Logue to PHoD

For those of you deputies who might be around General Convention and still be accessing the interwebs, I would like to make my endorsement for the Rev. Canon Frank Logue to the office of President of the House of Deputies.

I’ve known Frank since 1998 when I went to VTS. He was a year ahead of me and, and we both had similar scholarly and technical interests. We became fast friends when we both attended CREDO together in 2003.

After Seminary, Frank became a successful church planter for ten years, and King of Peace Episcopal Church stands as a testament to his abilities in those areas. After that, he became Canon to the Ordinary in the diocese of Georgia.

Frank offers a formidable intellect, a pastoral heart, a listening ear and a real can-do spirit to the House. Considering the challenges that are being laid down by the Committee on Structure, I believe Frank is eminently qualified to lead the house during this time of great transition.