TLS signed twice “Bob,” two pages, 8 x 10.5, United States Senate letterhead, November 30, 1966. Letter to Harry Thayer, President of WGHQ. In full: “Thanks for your most interesting letter of November 14. It raises important problems, and I am asking a team of bright young lawyers in New York City to work on them for me.
First, of course, is the terrible complexity of the ballot at a standard New York State election. This results from many causes: a constitution which requires too many issues, which properly should be decided by the Legislature, to be decided instead as Propositions and Amendments on the ballot; elective judgeships with, in many cases, relatively short terms; and the simple fact that New York, a big state, has a lot of elective offices to fill. These matters, I think, will have to be considered by the Constitutional Convention this year, and I hope that thorough reform will result.
Second is the complexity of the voting machines themselves. As to compulsory voter training on these machines, before citizenship is granted, my impression is that there are two major questions. One is the general: how difficult do we want to make it for people to acquire citizenship, and how difficult can we make it within the limits of the Constitution. The second is whether the Constitution, which reserves to the states the major power over their electoral processes, would permit the Federal government to require training in the voting process of a particular state before admission to United States citizenship.
I think you are closer to the central issue with your suggestions for young people. After all, though only half the people of Ulster County vote on the propositions and amendments, I doubt that more than a few are foreign-born; therefore the more serious problem is the training of our own native-born citizens. I am requesting a report from the Library of Congress on how much voter training is provided in various states; that may at least give us a beginning indication of where to go with this problem.
Thanks again for your thoughts. I will look into this with some care, and be back in touch with you when I learn more.” Kennedy also adds a brief handwritten postscript which reads, “How are you? My best, Bob.” In fine condition, with horizontal fold passing through letter’s signature and staple holes to top left corners.
As a senator from New York, Kennedy became familiar with WGHQ’s president Harry Thayer, an outspoken radio personality known as the ‘Voice of the Hudson Valley.’ Highly involved in community affairs and never hesitant to speak his mind, Thayer frequently contacted politicians with his opinions, ideas, and hopes for the future of New York. After the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which eliminated previously legal strategies to prevent blacks and other minorities from voting, the grounds were set; now it was the logistics of voting that needed work. With his long-standing belief that voting was the key to racial equality, Kennedy was passionate about reforming the system. Acknowledging the difficulties in voting—the complexity of the ballots with their multitude of issues and appointments, the complexity of the voting machines, and the lack of training citizens how to effectively participate—RFK expresses hope for future reforms in these areas, as well as gratitude for the concerned radio host’s input. A lively reply to a well-known New York radio figure, this letter addresses important voting issues that remain relevant even today. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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