I was born in 1947. The first election campaigning that I remember was when I was about 6 years old. It was the early 1950’s. Television came on after dinner. There was a test pattern on the screen so that you could adjust your set so that it was more clear. And maybe adjust your rabbits ears antennae that might have aluminum foil on the end or even more adjustment options.
The news came on first. I think it lasted about 15 minutes. There were commercials built into the programs. There were a couple of those each evening. But what I remember the best is seeing the candidates on tv. If there was an interview for 90 seconds for someone running for an office, there were interviews of 90 seconds for everyone running for that office. There were public service announcements that were free. Equal time for each candidate. They had a minute to let you know what they were for. No one bought ads. If one made the news for something unrelated to politics, the others still got equal time.
Then there were the ‘freebies’. I remember pencils with the candidates’ name on them. If one spent a lot of money, there was a pen. And there were always nail file advertising candidates. That’s what they spent their campaign money on. There weren’t 3 ft sq signs every 30 feet that blocked the view of each intersection. There weren’t wasted trees. There were not signs for months prior to election and for weeks after waiting to be picked up. We got useful, tangible things in our hands that reminded us who was running.
Voting. Tabulation. That was different. You voted on a paper ballot that was counted that night at the polling place where you voted. They stayed until all votes were counted. They were right there in front of you. At least 3 people counted the votes that someone else read off the ballots. The totals had to match. If they didn’t match, they recounted them. I know about this because my mother volunteered every election to work at the polls. She was a Republican, stay at home mom My father was a Democratic over the road trucker who was usually on the road at election time. Neither one ever missed voting. My mother in person at the polls, my father by absentee ballot. He said he couldn’t miss because he had to cancel her vote. 😉
I’m Independent. I’ve never missed voting in an election. I read all that I can about the candidates and the issues. I try to vote on what is good for the country and not what I personally believe is good for me. For example, I’m totally against abortion. I would never have one. But others will have them, no matter what. I can’t force my beliefs on others. But I can give them the right to choose according to their own beliefs. I can do that by voting intelligently. Not with my heart.
I digress. Back to the point I was trying to make. Today we vote on machines that can be rigged, or not. The votes can be counted on software that’s legitimate or that’s been rigged. The ballots are moved from the polling places and lost or left behind, like one I found in our city hall the day after election day. I called the recorder’s office and a radio station. The results in our small town changed that next day. Was that a coincidence? We have recounts that have time limits on them. How can that be? And here is the thought that brought on this blog…..
Shouldn’t votes be counted until they are ALL counted, and not by a specific date? Just a thought. I’d like to vote on a paper ballot with a pen that I put in a ballot box that is counted at the polling place and recounted until the numbers all match. I don’t think that’s too hard. It’s been done for centuries, at least.
Homestead Hippie 