By Arthur Vidro
By Arthur Vidro
One month until Election Day. As Nov. 3 approaches, both major parties will declare this the most important election our country’s ever had.
That’s the only thing the two parties can agree on.
And they are both wrong.
Every presidential election I have witnessed (starting in 1968), has purported to be “the most important election ever.” Which is logically impossible.
As for our most important election ever, I would nominate the one in 1860, when Abraham Lincoln won a tight four-way race while receiving just 45% of the votes cast and losing in all of the southern states.
But make no mistake, this will be a trailblazing election. Books will be written about the fascinating process behind this doozy of an election.
Think of the Election Day changes wrought by the pandemic.
For starters, plenty of folks will fear going to the polls. Let’s not debate whether those fears are justified; we can agree the fears exist. To accommodate voter fear, states that previously made it difficult to cast mail-in votes, and severely limited the reasons for being allowed to do so, are loosening their regulations.
This will lead to mailed-in votes garnering a record-setting percentage of the total vote.
Each state sets its own election rules, creating confusion. For instance, some states insist on receiving mailed ballots by Election Day; other states are content if ballots are postmarked by Election Day. States also have different rules on when to start counting the mailed-in votes.
Some states send ballots to all registered voters. Many have sent all voters an application for a ballot. In some states the voter must initiate the action.
In some states, all these mail-in votes will lead to delayed results. Possibly the presidential race won’t be decided until days – or weeks – after the election.
New York held its primaries in June. The state’s quest to keep voters safe by letting them vote by mail led to big delays in tabulating results, and questions about whether there will be a bigger mess in the fall. It took until early August to finish counting a tidal wave of absentee ballots that overwhelmed a system that typically handles only about 5% of the vote.
Nationwide, because of the pandemic, there were steep reductions in the number of polling places. Will that pattern continue into the general election? Will that lead to even more mailed-in votes? It would certainly lead to longer lines, which are more conducive to virus-spreading.
Four years ago, I served as moderator of elections for one of Claremont’s three wards. The responsibilities included putting together a team of ballot clerks, overseeing the voting, being in charge of counting the votes, and settling any disputes that arose.
I am so happy not to have those responsibilities this year.
For instance, disputes over masks. Here in New Hampshire, communities can require that voters and poll workers wear face coverings on Election Day to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Some communities might require masks.
But if face coverings are required, who will enforce the rule? The election moderator? Me, I’m no bouncer. My trying to get a big, strong rule-violator to leave would be like Woody Allen squeakily telling John Wayne, “Follow the rules or I’ll evict you.”
No thank you.
Don’t know if I could even serve with a mask mandate. Having my nose and mouth covered makes me hyperventilate frequently; my mask would be off half the time to allow for constant sipping of at least a gallon of water during the 14- or 15-hour shift (I was born thirsty); and the non-contagious chronic cough I’ve had for years would scare voters and poll workers alike.
Four years ago, I had a devil of a time trying to get enough ballot clerks to man all the shifts. I filled the final slot the day before the election.
Ballot clerks tend to be an elderly lot and thus more at risk of catching the coronavirus. They are not going to be as agreeable this year to serve.
There will be clerk shortages. At the start of September, Louisiana announced it is looking for people to work polling locations for the fall elections. The state has had concerns about poll worker shortages for years but those concerns have heightened with the coronavirus outbreak.
From a ballot clerk’s point of view, there will be danger sitting there, indoors, all day, dealing with the voting public.
But surely the clerks will be protected? Well, in this year’s primaries, there were shortages of protective gear for poll workers throughout much of the nation.
Masks or no masks, shields or no shields, the fear will linger.
A week after the Sept. 8 primary, I visited Claremont City Hall to submit two applications for mail-in ballots. Those ballots arrived this past week.
Considering that ballots could not be prepared until after the results of the primary were in, the state did an excellent job getting November’s ballots ready.
I started mulling the prospect of absentee voting in August, when I received in the mail an item dubbing itself “Official Absentee Voter Registration Packet Request.” It was sent by the New Hampshire Republican State Committee.
It was addressed to a former owner of our house, who died about 15 years ago. If I had filled out that application, it would have been returned, postage-free, to: Claremont Clerk; 58 Opera House Square; Durham, New Hampshire 03824.
That’s the wrong town and wrong ZIP code.
Clearly, over-eager party leaders make careless mistakes. Let’s keep them far, far away from the ballots and the vote counters.
Next week: lawsuits and drop boxes.
If you have consumerism questions, send them to Arthur Vidro in the care of this newspaper, which publishes his column every weekend.
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