With voter fraud a major concern in this year’s election, the small town of Seekonk, MA is trying something new. The town has decided to have all voters swear to God on a bible, that they are registered to vote. “We’re hoping that this will prevent any voter fraud from occurring,” said one town official. “We’ll have poll workers go around with a video recorder that will record each voting transaction to include the attestation to God and the actual vote.”
If a person does not swear to God or refuses to do so, the person will be asked to leave the polling station and their vote will not be counted. “We just want to make sure that people are voting legally, and the only way to do that is by swearing on a bible. We’re trying to be as accommodating as possible, we’ll even pay for the bibles if anyone needs one,” said Seekonk Mayor John A. Tassoni III. “I really hope this helps us keep our elections clean and fair.”
In a town hall meeting with the mayor, an interesting question was asked. When the Mayor was asked If someone does not practice a religion that believes in God, can they still vote? The response: “Of course! We’re not going to ask you if you believe in God, we just need you to swear to him. It’s not a religious test.” The Christian United law firm found that this should indeed satisfy any legal matters regarding this issue. Anyone may vote if they choose by swearing to God with their hand on a Bible. The ACLU is not commenting at this time.
Critics of the plan say it is discriminatory to require people to swear on the Christian holy book. “This crosses a line. It’s saying that people who aren’t Christian can’t be trusted to vote, and that’s not right. We’re one of the most secular nations in the world and this just exarcebates it,” said Sean Finklecloth, former Civil Libitery Lawyer. “Besides, there are tons of Christian sects where believers wouldn’t feel comfortable swearing on a Bible. Catholics, Orthodox Jews and many others abstain from oaths.”
The first day of early voting in Seekonk went without a hitch. Mayor John A. Fertelli said “I’m very impressed with the turnout, the new system seems to be working out well.” However, in Ward 2 a man named Timmy O’Toole attempted to vote and was told he could not because he would not be swearing on a bible when voting. Mr. O’Toole attempted to argue that it was unconstitutional and unfair to only allow Christians to vote, but his argument fell on deaf ears. Because Mr. O’Toole refused to swear on a bible, he was escorted from the building by several masked men. Other than that, things seem to be going well!”
A new record for voter turnout has been forecast for Seekonk with almost 49% of registered voters participating this year versus last years 25%. “I think we can attribute this years massive forecasted turnout drop in having to swear on the bible. Voters generally feel safer knowing God is in the equation.” said one town official. Early voting is going on now. Check here to find your local polling station.
Reader Responses:
Do you think that this is a good way to combat voter fraud? What do you think of the idea of swearing on a bible? Do you think it will help people be more honest or do you think that it will just make Christians seem like they are trying to force their religion on others?