We deserve a say

USA Today

August 7, 2007

Four decades ago, our nation belatedly enacted a law to guarantee every U.S. citizen an equal right to vote.

It was said then there is no reason that can excuse the denial of this right.

It was true yesterday. It's true today. It will be true tomorrow.

Yet, the national Democratic Party last weekend decided the votes won't count in Florida's 2008 presidential primary.

It says Florida's earlier primary — set by the Republican Legislature and governor — would affect the sequence of contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

New Hampshire and Iowa likely will skip ahead. But instead of working to move South Carolina ahead about a week, party officials voted to strip Florida of delegates to the national convention. That means the country's fourth largest state will have no say in picking a Democratic presidential nominee.

The issue before us is simple: It's a case of fundamental rights vs. party rules.

It's ironic, because national Democrats just celebrated the 42nd anniversary of the Voting Rights Act by unveiling a plan that "ensures all eligible Americans are able to vote and have their vote counted."

It's ironic, because Florida has seen its share of disputed elections and disenfranchised voters, from hanging chads in 2000 to faulty machines in Sarasota last year.

And it's ironic, because this year, after heartbreaking losses in 2000 and 2004, Democrats supposedly are united in their determination to win the presidency. That's hard to do when you tell 4 million Florida Democrats they don't count.

Certainly, the primary system is broken. But the answer isn't to deny people the right to have their vote counted.

For 2008, there is the aforementioned short-term fix. For the long term, we can fashion a solution that takes into account large states and gives smaller ones a fair say, too — perhaps a system of rotating regional primaries.

We are immersed today in seemingly greater debates: Iraq, health care, home foreclosures. But rarely does an issue arise that is so sacred to our democracy.

As to our right to vote, and have that vote count, there can be no debate.

Bill Nelson, a Democrat, is the senior U.S. senator from Florida.

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