We should have a much better idea about who the candidates for president will be…Democratic and Republican, after polls close this evening.
We live in an instamatic world. Votes are cast, TV network representatives are talking to voters as they exit the polls and many times they are ready to declare a winner as soon as the polls close. Takes a little ‘fun’ out of the process.
As a young adult I looked forward to election night, usually at the courthouse. It was a social affair. Votes were counted by hand…..a team consisted of three or four people, one reading the names of the candidates receiving votes from each ballot and two or three tallying the votes. As each candidate vote total increased by five, all would say “tally”. That way, if there was a problem, they would halt the process and make sure all were “on the same page.”
It was not uncommon for the process to continue into the wee hours of the morning, and all the time, interested residents from all across the county were visiting. It really was a fun time, unless you were one of the candidates.
My, my how things have changed. Even in Bladen County, if the process is not over in a couple of hours after the polls close, there is complaining. Today we have voting machines and representative of the 17 precincts bring in a small module, it is plugged into the equipment at the courthouse and the numbers are displayed for all to see. All info is forwarded to the state board of elections and instantly, anyone around the world can see the results.
I remember as a member of the Board of Commissioners, we were ask for funding to purchase the first voting machines in the late 70s or early 80s, and I remember that at one precinct, one machine failed to record a single vote for one candidate. Fortunately, the candidate had little or no opposition, the other machines worked as they should, but, it could have been a ‘mess’.
Today, it is different. Machines have been upgraded and pretty much fool-proof and produce results instantly.
I appreciate the new updated systems, but miss the social environment of ‘days gone by’.
Over the next few hours, the number of legitimate candidates should be reduced substantially, whether the losers admit it or not.
I don’t want to elect anyone stupid enough to want the job. Erma Bombeck
Politicians are always trying to convince you that they can solve the unemployment problem if you’ll just give them a job. Alfred E. Neuman
Democracy is a process by which the people are free to choose the person who will get the blame. Dr. Laurence J. Peter
In most places in the country, voting is looked upon as a right and a duty, but in Chicago it’s a sport. Dick Gregory
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