I will vote on Tuesday.
My registration for voting was completed waaaay back during the primary season in which I voted.
Along with the forest worth of extra large political post cards I receieved this week two pieces of mail stood out.
They both said the same thing, one more bluntly, one less so.
The first listed off my "voting history" AND THAT OF MY NEIGHBORS, for the last several elections. The list claimed that it was also sent out to my neighbors and that they now "know" that I had not voted in the past few elections.
Clearly this is an attempt to shame me to vote on Tuesday.
First, let me divulge that I have voted in EVERY election since becoming eligible at age eighteen.
The #%€£%#'s that sent this out ASSUMED I was a resident and therefore a registered voter in the state of NH. I lived in another state.
I believe everyone who HAS the LEGAL right to vote should educate themselves on the issues and vote based on their best judgement.
But...it does not upset me if someone doesn't vote because they haven't come to an informed opinion of who deserves their vote.
So now I need to deal with the "shame" of my neighbors believing that I am a no show at the polls. As horrific as that seems, it gets worse!
The second mailer dealing with this was in the form of a report card. While a report card is something I have not received in decades, mine were generally excellent.
My "voting" report card rated me "very poor".
Of course this is inaccurate.
Here's my real (self tabulated) voting report card:
Attendance: PERFECT
Choices: A- (A deduction for my vote wasted on John Anderson)
Now I have to cope with the damage to my self esteem that the "very poor" rating has caused!
BUT WAIT A MINUTE!!!
Until these mailings arrived I was unaware that an individual's voting history is redily available. Apparently, it is. I wonder how much voter fraud occurs in using this information in states where proper I.D. is not required to cast a vote.
Consider this:
John Doe has a similarly "very poor" voting report card. Having not voted in the last three elections, he is likely to not vote in this one. To cast a vote in his name, a perpetrator would need only to show up, claim to be John Doe and claim to live at John Doe's address. That is an address that is also known by the issuers of my "report card". In the rare case that John Doe shows up to vote, he is told "sorry, no double voting" and is sent away.
Professer Avrich, of Accounting 101 fame started the first day of his class with this statement:
"Figures don't lie, but liars can figure."
It's going to get interesting folks!
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