Opinion: SB2 allows for democracy at its best

Louis Corson places his ballot in the electronic voting tally machine in the Hopkinton gym voting area on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.

Louis Corson places his ballot in the electronic voting tally machine in the Hopkinton gym voting area on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Monitor file

By CANDACE YOUNGMAN

Published: 03-06-2024 6:00 AM

Modified: 03-06-2024 1:06 PM

Candace Youngman lives in Hopkinton.

Our town of Hopkinton is well overdue to move forward in time with a more inclusive democratic process called SB2. We need to open the door to democracy at its best, allowing election day as the venue providing all registered voters in Hopkinton ample access regarding time, with all-day voting.

SB2 offers the opportunity to cast your votes, not just to select our town and school officers, or to approve updates to our town zoning ordinances, but most importantly, to vote on all town and school fiscal budgets on election day. The opportunity for all voters to have all day to vote regardless of schedules, and access to use the absentee ballot for those unable to vote in person, is truly the most democratic process for all.

With SB2 there is a deliberative session, which mirrors our current town meeting format with discussions, debates, amendments, the same process except for one major difference. Voting on the budgets takes place on election day, as it should, giving voters time to consider those discussions and debates with ample time to reflect on those discussions with our town officers.

Those who argue against adopting SB2 state that our neighbors and fellow residents would use the time between the meeting and the vote to purposefully circulate misinformation, a most egregious and disrespectful comment against our neighbors and fellow residents.

For each of us, our town and school fiscal budgets comprise the majority of our tax responsibility. Voting on the budgets at the traditional town meeting has had its time and place. That time is in the past. Respect our neighbors, our fellow town citizens and our fellow voters and give each and every one an avenue for the majority to vote on the serious issues governing all of us.

Our properties and our fiscal town and school budgets are serious business and no longer can be held to the approval by a small number of voters attending a traditional meeting at the high school gym with limited capacity by fire codes and restricting the vote for all those unable to attend.

SB2 is a step forward in time. It is time to move forward in Hopkinton giving more voters access to our democratic voting process on all fiscal budgets, together with voting for officers and ordinances on election day. A vote to continue the traditional process, which creates restrictions for voting, is living in the past. It is time to move forward giving our voters in Hopkinton access to our proven democratic voting process.

Voting on election day is the only way to provide an opportunity for all registered voters to cast their vote for all the important financial budgets and any and all business that legally comes before our town. Let us open up Hopkinton with voting access for all by voting ‘yes’ for SB2.