Tag: Voting

No, on One

April 13, 2026

There was a proposition on the Springfield ballot for Tuesday April 7th on a hotel motel tax to remodel and build additions to our existing Civic Center on St. Louis Street. I am not a citizen of the city. I live in the county so I and other residents near us could not vote on this issue.

On election day, my wife and I were at our polling place and voted on a candidate and issue in the Ebenezer Fire District. No one was talking about this issue. The April election determines whether you are a faithful voter or just someone who wants the right to be able to complain when the vote goes against what you want. You don’t understand this? If you did not vote, you do not have any right to complain, because you did not vote.

My wife and I are so committed to the idea of voting, we also serve as election judges for Greene County, Missouri. We have done this for over fifteen years. It was important to vote in this election because it may be your last chance. For my entire life, we as Americans have had this privilege. There are people including our President who wants to keep you from voting, if you do not agree with them.

The current Iranian conflict may well be the way to accomplish this. If we are attacked on US soil and Martial Law are declared, the 2028 election could be canceled. Especially if the candidates for offices are ‘accidentally’ killed before we can vote for or against them.

It is not only the Trumpites that want to restrict voting. Other groups do not think that many of us should have this right. It isn’t just your color, religious preferences, sexual identity, or opinions that they wish to control. Have you noticed how often something you voted against comes back to the forefront, again.

Proposition One in Springfield was just this type of issue. It was defeated last year and came back again. It was defeated by even more voters this time. Will it be back again next time or next year? We have been told that it will not be on the ballot again. I will believe that when I see it. We are from Missouri. My guess is that it will appear on the November ballot in 2028. If it is, you heard it here first.

Don’t say you haven’t been warned when this happens. I have been voting for more than fifty years and have never felt that this could be a possibility until now. Donald Trump and his supporters proved they were willing to kill our Congress and Senate in 2020. They murdered a guard and the President pardoned them once he regained power. What next?

©Copyright 2026 by Charles Kensinger

My wife and I could not get married

September 19, 2025

A new law has gone into effect in the state of Missouri that now makes it illegal for a seventeen-year-old girl to marry a twenty-one-year-old man. That was the situation for Cindy and I forty-nine years ago. According to the statutes at that time, we were allowed to marry after her mother signed our application for a marriage license.

That is now illegal. Let me explain my problem with this new provision. I was graduating from college. Cindy had another year of high school to go. I did not know if I would be moving after graduation. We planned our wedding, got married, and moved to Joplin two weeks later with three days’ notice.

Missouri law today states that my girlfriend and I could move together, but not as man and wife. Missouri has legalized living together outside of marriage, but not as a married couple. Legislators, did you consider this when you approved this bill?

There are a lot of words in what you voted for. Did you read them all? I am sure your aids and advisors showed you the parts that protect the underage. This was your main purpose. However, someone removed language from the previous law that allowed parents to let those between sixteen and eighteen be married, provided the parent signs the marriage application.

Missouri law has already removed the parents’ rights to prosecute an adult who has sex with a seventeen-year-old. Seventeen-year-olds are not allowed to have other adult responsibilities. But with your supreme wisdom, parents cannot allow them to legally marry, but they can just move in together.

Cindy’s mom knew that we could cohabit legally if we wanted to. She allowed us to do it with the approval of the state. You have taken that away from decent, God-fearing young people. You should be ashamed.

My assemblyman and state senator who voted for this will never receive my vote again unless this is changed in the next session. I know that you drag your feet until someone makes you do something, and it is usually your political bosses. Guess what? We, the voters, are your real employers.

My intention is to advocate for the firing of every person who failed to see the effect this error would have on our young people. Yes, many of them already live together. You took away their right to do it morally. Someone told you this was a good idea. They were wrong. I hope you understand that now.

You’ve pissed me off one last time. Fix it or lose your elected positions, and do not expect us to forget that you do not care about those of us that you claim to want to help. We have longer memories than elephants. We don’t all have political Alzheimer’s as you hope.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger

November is Coming

August 28, 2022

This column is written for all of us who will go to the polls for the election. It does not matter which party you belong to. I hope that when you select a candidate you consider the person. I am not interested in the party line. We want decent human beings who will vote how we think they should.

Personally, I do not want anyone who still believes that Donald Trump was a good choice for this country. He is still only interested in himself. I will not vote for anyone that believes his endorsement is a positive attribute for them. My desire is that you do the same.

I also do not want anyone who thinks that talking badly about their opponents or candidates from another group is a wise thing to do. These two perspectives reduce my options a lot. I also need to know what you mean. Acronyms and abbreviations used by your ads leave me confused.

I do not know the political language and do not care about who supports you. Everyone that may believe you are an excellent choice means nothing to me. What conservative, liberal, outsider, CRT, woke, or any of your other bywords may vary with the person who uses them.

If you want me to vote for you, I need specifics about what you have done and will do if you are voted into office. How do you stand on the reversal of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision? I know you all have recognized that our economy is in trouble. Don’t blame someone else for that.

Your solution to this problem is what I need to hear. You cannot lower gas prices. Do not tell me that you will solve this problem. Washington is not the trouble. The people in Congress, the Senate, or other elected offices may or may not be doing their jobs correctly. My opinion and yours may be different.

Tell me what your plan is. How will you vote? I need to know that you will work with anyone else that you must. I was in business for over forty years. I had to change my approach depending on who I worked with. I want you to keep your position working to solve problems. Shutting down the government is never an acceptable result.

We want you to work for us and with each other. We will vote in November. When you lie to us, you will never get our vote again. The voter’s slogan should be, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

©Copyright 2022 by Charles Kensinger