Thumbs up:

To those who chose to spend Nov. 6 volunteering at the polls.

Every election requires a team of people to work the polls from 6 a.m. until they close at 8 p.m. This group is an eclectic mix and is hired through the Sangamon County Clerk’s office.

We commend people for being there to make sure that people are able to vote quickly and easily every election. They deserve recognition.

Thumbs Down:

The recent voter suppression that has been seen in America.

Native Americans in North Dakota made national news last week after it was discovered that they would be unable to vote in an important Senate race. Native Americans who live on settlements do not have street addresses, but have P.O. boxes. A technicality in a North Dakota law requires that those who vote have street addresses.

In Kansas, the mostly Latinx town Dodge City are not able to vote locally. Their only polling place was closed.

Georgia saw thousands of people being unregistered to vote after Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office removed their names from the rolls. 70 percent of the names removed were names of black citizens.

Voter suppression is alive and well in America today, and seems to be affecting a majority people of color. The editorial board looks upon this unfavorably.

Thumbs up:

Those in Springfield who worked so hard to help citizens exercise their democratic rights on Nov. 6.

Groups like Faith Coalition for the Common Good registered hundreds of people to vote this election season, and have knocked on more than 1,000 doors reminding people to vote in the upcoming midterm election.

They are not affiliated with a political party and do not endorse specific candidates.

Don Gray, the Sangamon County Clerk, has also extended early voting hours this season. The clerk’s office was open Monday through Sunday, and saw record amounts of people early voting this cycle.

Thumbs down:

Campaigns who are running attack ads against their opponents.

Many campaigns in Central Illinois faced stiff competition, and turned to running attack ads against their opponents later in the campaign season, often including outlandish arguments and unverifiable claims.

Rodney Davis, an incumbent who won his re-election in the 13th Congressional district, ran an ad against his opponent Betsy Dirksen Londrigan claiming she had something to do with getting a Lincoln hat at the Presidential Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum that was not able to be tied to President Lincoln.

Governor Rauner ran an ad against Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker depicting a marriage ceremony between Pritzker and Illinois Speaker of the House Michael J Madigan. It featured profanity and a message that was unclear.

These attack ads do nothing constructive for the candidates who run them; they simply stir up anger and hate in their bases. 

The editorial board can be reached at [email protected].