Roy Gutterman
Roy Gutterman, associate professor of newspaper and online journalism and director of the Tully Center for Free Speech in the Newhouse School, wrote an op-ed for Syracuse.com titled “The right to vote is ‘the essence of a democratic society.’ Exercise it.”
Gutterman, an expert on communications and First Amendment law, writes the piece as a call to action to vote in the 2020 election. While the pandemic has created several challenges in the voting process, Gutterman emphasizes the importance of voting in any form, whether it be in person at polling places or via absentee ballots.
While the 2020 presidential election is at top of mind for many, Gutterman says that local and state-level races play an equally important role in our democracy. “The lower-ticket races determine everything from the composition of Congress to your local government officials, as well as special ballot issues,” writes Gutterman.
In the piece, Gutterman emphasizes that while elections are run at the county and state levels, they are inherently a Constitutional issue. “The right to self-governance through public participation—voting—is so vital, the Constitution and a body of federal and state laws ensure and protect the right to vote,” he writes. He argues that it is imperative that as a public we must act upon this right to vote, as it is our duty to participate in these democratic exercises.
