WHERE you vote may determine WHO you vote for. Passersby who stopped to answer surveys taken next to churches in the Netherlands and England reported themselves to be more politically conservative and more negative toward non-Christians than did people who were questioned within sight of government buildings–a finding that may be significant when it comes to voting.
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New Hampshire election officials announced today that theywill recount the ballots in both Republican and Democraticprimaries held there last Tuesday. The recount will begin onJanuary 16. It was requested by some candidates, but therehas also been concern expressed that the hand-countedballots appear to follow the pre-election poll results whilethe machine-counted ballots do not.
There is a growing national movement to outlaw mechanicaland electronic voting systems in favor of hand-marked paperballots because of perceived irregularities in pastelections and the ease with which electronic voting systemscan be tampered with.
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Thirty seven years ago today, as of the moment I just put pen to paper, John F. Kennedy was shot dead in Dallas, Texas by unknown assassins, for unknown reasons. From that moment to this, the American Presidency has been an institution in decline.
The decline actually started in November of 1960, when Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago stole the election for Kennedy. Richard Nixon, who, despite all his faults and failings, was at least a statesman, declined to contest the election, instead conceding and then quietly attempting to prove voter fraud or get recounts in various constituencies.
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Two weak candidates, a hung election. Who could have expected otherwise? Not only that, they begin making spectacles of themselves almost immediately. First, Al Gore, foolishly relying on television news as his source, concedes. Then, a few minutes later, he retracts his concession. Does George Bush react in a statesmanlike manner? Perhaps, if it’s statesmanlike to be snippy.
Then there follows the grotesque, contradictory and foolish battle of the ballots in Florida, as each candidate frantically seeks to get the roulette wheel to stop on his color. The actual truth is that balloting this close has a random outcome. So the electorate hasn’t spoken at all. The roulette wheel has spoken.
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