Enough Already–Let’s Vote

In 1972 I waited in a long line at the Mallard Creek 2 polling place in Charlotte, NC to vote for Eugene McCarthy. “If you vote for him things will be awful,” I was told. I did vote for him. Things did turn out to be awful.

What makes this election different from the 11 other presidential elections I actually remember (Sorry Ike, I don’t remember ’52 or ’56) is how long it’s been heavily covered.

In the pre-Internet, pre-cable days candidates were on the stump, but mostly unnoticed by the general population. If you spoke in Chillicothe, you might have gotten some local TV coverage (in fact you prayed for local TV coverage) and maybe a short AP/UPI write-up, but no one else knew. Now, every breath you take, every move you make, they’ll be watching you!

Democrats pulling for Senator Obama equate this massive coverage to vetting and use it to thwart Senator McCain’s claim we know nothing of Obama. I don’t think McCain’s getting much traction here. We all feel, right or wrong, after all this time we know the candidates.

I remember reading somewhere that Bush-41 knew he was going to lose to Bill Clinton a few weeks before the election (I cannot find a citation fo this–but it is my memory) and then just went through the motions. It doesn’t look that way with John McCain, who I saw speaking from a town on the Tennessee/Virginia border a while ago. Still, it’s got to be tough to know you’re as far behind in the polls as he is.

I’ve always thought it was students and young adults who drove Lyndon Johnson from office. And yet when franchised as a very liberal young voter I never voted for eventual winners. Very frustrating.

In 1972 I waited in a long line at the Mallard Creek 2 polling place in Charlotte, NC to vote for Eugene McCarthy. “If you vote for him things will be awful,” I was told. I did vote for him. Things did turn out to be awful.

No one I knew was voting for Nixon and yet he ran away with North Carolina and the election in general. Since then I voted voted both Republican and Democratic in presidential elections. To be kind, I am not a bellwether.

At work I asked Intern Jacob if he was excited about this election and if he thought students were involved. He quickly answered yes. I found that encouraging.

Back in 1960 the election results were on all-night. The election itself wasn’t decided until the pre-dawn hours. Though I was just 10, I remember how exciting that night was (and I also remember primarily watching NBC). I was prepped for the same fun in 1964, but everything was decided quickly. Not every election goes down to the wire. In fact, most do not.

Tomorrow’s results will probably be known early and Barack Obama will go-to-bed President Elect Obama. In football he’d be seen as a prohibitive favorite… and yet they still play the games.

I Voted Today

Photo from my Motorola RAZR cameraphone

7 Nov ’06, 3.15pm EST

Originally uploaded by Geoff Fox.

This might sound naive or Pollyanna’ish, but I voted and the mere act of walking in the booth and pulling the levers made me feel good. This is a wonderful country based on fundamental values worth protecting.

My single vote won’t tip any races, but it’s still incredibly important. I really feel that way.

I had a discussion with a relative yesterday. He never votes. I was shocked. It’s his choice, but I couldn’t imagine not voting.

I remember my mom bringing me into the booth with her. I was a little boy and she was voting at PS 200 on Jewel Avenue in Flushing. It was virtually the same machine I voted on today.

My first vote on my own was at Mallard Creek #2 in Charlotte, NC in 1971. Nixon versus McGovern brought everyone out. It’s the only time I ever remember a significant wait in line. Again, the machine was the same.

This will probably be the last time I pull a lever on one of the old mechanical machines. New technology is coming. I am suspicious of the new electronic machines.

A few days ago, eBay sent me a note, telling me they had canceled an auction I participated in. Only, the auction had already ended and I had already paid for and received the merchandise. All the usual details of my transaction have been removed from my eBay page! It’s as if the transaction never happened.

Can that be done with my vote too?

On the news over the past few days I’d seen stories about how ‘buried’ Joe Lieberman’s name was on the ballot. He’s right. He’s in that ballot ghetto, way down at the bottom. It’s an area normally reserved for fringe candidates. In the poorly lit booth, some people will miss it.

I will watch with interest tonight as the votes come in. There’s more anticipation and angst for me than there’s been in a long time. Connecticut is in the national spotlight for the first time in a long time. There are other contests I’m watching from across the country.

I’m so glad to have participated.


Election Day 2005

It’s election day. My town is electing a mayor and a few other posts. Before I went to work, I went to vote.

It’s always the same. I walk into the lunchroom at the local elementary school, find the table that matches my street, show my drivers license and get my ‘ticket’. Then I vote on a machine which looks like every voting machine I’ve used since 1971 (Nixon-McGovern at Mallard Creek 2 in Charlotte, NC).

I looked down at the list today as they crossed off my name. Beneath Helaine Fox and Geoffrey Fox was Stefanie Fox. How cool is that, Steffie is a registered voter.

Steffie didn’t vote today and that’s fine. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, she did the right thing by not voting!

Voting is the final step of a long process. Unless you take all the steps – don’t vote. Steffie is at college where it would be impossible for her to know what’s going on locally.

I was passing by VH1 last night while some folks were talking about Paris Hilton’s participation in a “Vote or Die” program in the last election. As it turned out, Paris neither voted nor died.

I worry about get out the vote programs. They concentrate on the wrong part of the equation. You shouldn’t vote because there’s guilt involved. When you vote, it should be because you’ve got an idea what’s going on and an opinion you want heard.

Like I said, voting is the final step of a long process.

Getting Out My Vote

I just voted. I am proud to say this is my 33 consecutive election. I’m not sure why, but I don’t think I voted when I was 21 (the eligible age then).

My first vote was in the Nixon – McGovern election of 1972. I was living in Charlotte, NC and voted at Mallard Creek 2 (whatever that is). I was glad to vote, though it meant little. In that election, in North Carolina, Nixon had more than twice as many votes as McGovern. It wasn’t a whole letter different in the nation as a whole.

Our current polling station is in Steffie’s old elementary school. The school, a one story experiment in open classrooms (a failed experiment in my opinion), makes a great place to vote. There’s a large parking lot. It’s away from any kind of congestion. The lunchroom, where the machines are set up, is spacious.

A ‘greeter’ from the Republican Party, who was handing out literature to everyone who walked from the parking lot to the school, told me 30% of the registered voters had voted by noon. Considering there are no truly contested contests here, that’s astounding. I would think that will translate to 70% or better turnout by the time polls close.

Though the poll watchers knew me, they correctly asked me to produce identification. I took out my drivers license, got a card to hand to the person standing alongside the voting machine, and voted.

The voting machines we use are similar… maybe the same… as the machines I remember as a kid. There is a horizontal row of levers for each party with each individual office or question on a single vertical line. The whole process of voting took 30 seconds, maybe less.

I like to think I am informed and my vote is meaningful, but the ability to vote, in the abstract, is the important thing.

I wish I knew the results now. There probably are some people, with early access to exit polls, who already know the results of this election. I’ll have to wait until 8:00 PM.