While 95 Percent Shun the Polls, A Burmese Immigrant Actually Wants to Vote

Speaking of that 5 percent-6 percent voter turnout yesterday, sometimes it takes a legal immigrant to put us “citizens” to shame. It happened yesterday at our polling place in Merriman Park, where SweetCharity and I proudly voted for insurgent DISD candidate Bruce Parrott (Zac!). Ahead of us in line was a new neighbor we’d met Halloweening with his family last Saturday–a legal U.S. resident from Burma/Myanmar by way of Thailand. Trying to communicate in broken English, the Burma native was showing his I.D. card and pleading with the poll official to let him vote. After the official explained that one needs to be a citizen to cast a ballot, our neighbor finally “got it” and walked away, dejected but smiling. Ironic to be reminded about the importance of voting by a guy from Burma–a police state marked by political repression, forced labor and ethnic cleansing.