Editorial: Responsibilities of voters don’t end at polls

Even though election day is over and the public is once again
stuck with bandwagon politicians like Gov. Gray Davis and
Congressman Henry Waxman, the opportunity to make a difference in
politics is far from gone.

Voting is the most prominent method by which the public can both
define their government and hold it accountable, but there are
still means for dissatisfied voters to influence the policies which
elected and reelected officials enact. Rallies and protests, for
example, have traditionally been successful at conveying the
disenchantment of the electorate to elected officials and often
help inspire change.

For more long-term thinking malcontents, advocating the drafting
of certain propositions, or preparing early to launch a stronger
third-party campaign in the next election, are other options.

There are certainly policies holding down and threatening the
University of California meriting legislative rebuttal.

UC Students Association, for example, should start more actively
spearheading a campaign to repeal Proposition 209, which bans
affirmative action in California.

On a local scale, students can also take matters into their own
hands. SP-1 and 2, which banned affirmative action in the UC, were
rescinded largely because of widespread student activism and
protests against the Board of Regents. Coordinating these
demonstrations of public discontent against state lawmakers may
help make repealing Proposition 209 more feasible.

Gov. Gray Davis has has already said he will not work to repeal
Proposition 209 because it was approved by California voters during
general elections. Therefore, efforts at ridding the state of the
law will largely have to work from the bottom up.

Regent Ward Connerly, proponent of Proposition 209, has a
campaign out to put Racial Privacy Initiative on the ballot. If the
RPI passes, it will be doubly difficult for California to return to
the days of affirmative action because the RPI would ban the state
from collecting data related to race on official forms. If students
want to bring affirmative action admission policies back to the
university, the time to start planning and mobilizing a large,
effective campaign is now, not a few months before the election
when millionaire politicians are backing and helping fund the
measure.

One of the main limitations third-party candidates have are
small campaign chests, relative to their democratic and republican
counterparts. The only reason Ralph Nader was able to poll as many
votes in the last election for the Green Party was because of his
name recognition. If a more thorough and lengthy effort is made to
promote third parties, like the Green Party, perhaps they can make
a larger dent into the percentage of victory sell-out politicians
like republican-democratic senator Dianne Feinstein or warhawk
congressman Henry Waxman usually get.

Citizens’ civic responsibility only begins with voting
““ it does not end there. They should consistently pursue
their political and ideological agendas by any means available.