Monday, May 14, 2007

21 Bars and Voter Registration

Press-Citizen Gushes, Screws Up

In the first of a no doubt endless series of editorials that will crest with an endorsement, the Press-Citizen makes any number of miskates. (I left that in just because I likes it better than spelling it night.)

This mistake's substantive, but should be the subject of much debate:
If the referendum fails, those (non-alcohol) alternatives still need to be pitched as "healthy choices" for underage students. If the referendum passes, those alternatives will be the only choices for underage students.

BZZZZ. I may be an old man but I'm not so old to have forgotten the house party. In fact I recall hosting quite a few. Lucky for us the worst consequences I saw other than my own drunken foolishness was the occasional appearance of Mystery Dude.

Mystery Dude is that guy who comes to the party with his friend and doesn't know anyone else. Since he doesn't know anyone else, he drinks an above average amount and passes out/crashes on the nearby couch. Friend can't wake him up, goes home. Next morning the guys at the house see Mystery Dude on the couch and wonder who he is.

That's a mild consequence; date rapes and alcohol poisoning are more serious...

But this mistake is just plain wrong.
Because Iowa now has Election Day voter registration, the vote will be an even more accurate measure of community sentiment on the issue.

The election day voter registration law does not take effect until January 1, 2008. The neo-prohibitionists are no doubt aware of this - wonder if that explains their yet again fortuitous timing, holding this with the last major non-same day registration election after filing the petition the last day of finals? Coincidences based in state law, but convenient.

UPDATE, 1 PM: The P-C has now corrected the error on the same-day registration law.

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