Sorry to all those people who weren’t able to vote on Election Day, but you have to follow the law. No matter what your feelings on Senate bill 306 are, the bottom line is that it’s now law, and you are required to follow it.

Just because you think you were registered here in East Lansing doesn’t mean you were legally registered. And voting does require some responsibility on the voter’s part - mainly knowing which precinct one needs to go to properly vote. One can’t just show up anywhere one feels like to vote. And one needs to follow instructions when voting. This can be applied to the frenzy down in Florida.

The rules are clear. If a person votes for more than one candidate when it clearly says, “Vote for not more than one,” then his or her ballot will be void because he or she couldn’t follow the clear and simple instructions. If there was some confusion on the voter’s part, then he or she should ask one of the many poll workers for clarification.

The ballot used in Palm Beach County, Fla., does appear to be illegal, but that should have been discovered before the election. The person who designed it should be reprimanded for not following clear regulations and requirements.

One last note. This situation is dripping with partisanship, with those in the middle fighting to make sure their candidate comes out on top. I see the Rev. Jesse Jackson ran down there, which is adding to the frenzy. Sure, it’s good to make sure people’s rights are protected, but does anybody really believe he’d be making such a stink if the tables were turned? In other words, if Vice President Al Gore was slightly up and Texas Gov. George W. Bush voters were crying they were confused? You have to wonder about that.

These are dangerous, troubling waters we’re venturing into and I can only hope the rule of law will prevail and it won’t be twisted just to see that a particular candidate becomes president. It will be a dark day in the United States if a president exclaims he deserves the White House with the justification that a court says he does, and not necessarily the voters. If it turns out that Bush loses the vote after these recounts - which doesn’t look likely - I sincerely hope he will be the honorable person in all this and put the country’s best interest before his own. I don’t believe he would take Gore’s position of fighting through the courts just to be the next president. Those people who said Gore would do anything to get elected may be right after all.

Kyle Olson
public administration senior