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To the editor:
After attending Tuesday’s Town Meeting, I’d like to address the elephant in the room by addressing who wasn’t in that room: parents of young children.
Ipswich has a voter suppression problem. Town Meeting disenfranchises much of our population, as households with a child have to leave one parent at home.
Disenfranchisement is tradition here. In 1634, voting rights were restricted to landed males. Over time, Ipswich granted suffrage to all citizens, yet our meeting remains largely unchanged.
Legal suffrage is not functional suffrage. Black men gained suffrage after the Civil War, but that right was restricted by poll taxes and deliberate intimidation. Even ignoring the unethical tactics of one Ipswich citizen, forcing families to pay a babysitter in order to vote constitutes a poll tax.
The U.S. is fighting two wars, one of which involves gerrymandering of congressional districts to kneecap those same Black voters. The term “gerrymandering” was invented in Essex County, setting a precedent for those in power to restrict those who would challenge it.
7 p.m. is the perfect time to hold Town Meeting — if you don’t want people to vote. One-hundred-ninety voters determined the fate of the public safety building. As in 1634, the burden of parenting often falls on mothers, and while no law prevents their participation, Tuesday had little representation of women under 50. One can assume the attendance of such a progressive voting bloc would have altered the outcome.
As we look ahead to difficult decisions about elementary schools, should we not allow our elementary school parents equal voice? If you find yourself disagreeing, is it because I’m wrong, or because doing what is right would make it harder for your side to win?
Town Meeting can change. During COVID, it was held on a Saturday, and participation was high despite a global pandemic. Just last year Gov. Maura Healey signed a law allowing remote meetings. Changing bylaws to schedule Town Meeting at a convenient time is a bare minimum, not a moonshot.
Successful governments require aspiration and action — we have the former. Voters overwhelmingly supported Mr. Gordon Harris’ article. The road to our modern political situation was paved by those willing to make symbolic gestures while consciously evading the imperative to create real change.
If we have the opportunity to ensure the right of more citizens to participate in our democratic process, then we have a moral obligation to do so.
Signed,
Michael Corbelle, Elizabeth Corbelle, Christina Elder, Jacob Elder, John Nagro, and Ted Dillon
