On the Ballot...

It’s Election Day again. Over here in my Indiana neighborhood, we have nothing on the ballot. How lovely to have no election phone calls this year. On the other hand, every local television station we watch is based in Cincinnati. In Ohio, two major issues on the ballot have spent millions on television advertising. Issue 2, the pharmaceutical issue has been bombarding the airways. Nobody seems to understand that issue. Just who is behind it? Why would people want to vote against lower drug prices? As soon as the nurses and doctors finish speaking about why lower drug prices will be bad for Ohio (?), Kelsey Grammer comes on the TV lobbying for Marsy’s Law.

At least we have a respite from the presidential jargon from last year.

My first presidential vote was in 1968. I was 23. You had to be 21 to vote in Ohio back then. I was teaching American History at Aiken High and lived a few blocks from the school. I decided to vote before school, and gave myself plenty of time.

We voted in someone's house. It was a perfect set-up. You entered into the living room where you checked-in. You voted in the basement and exited though a walk-out down there. When I check-in, the living room was nearly empty. I thought, "I'll have extra time before my first class begins."

The lady told me to go to the basement door. I opened the door to discover every step had at least two people on it. There was a line at the bottom as well. After about 10 minutes with no line movement, I began to get a bit nervous. Would I be late to my first class? There were no cell phones back then. A lady behind me said she would hold my place if I wanted to use a phone.

I went back to the check-in area, called Aiken and Tom D'Amico, the assistant principal, got on the phone. Tom had been my French teacher in high school and knew me well. He agreed to take the class if I did not arrive in time, as long as he could teach a little Franco-American history in the process! I went back in line, voted, and actually arrived a few minutes before class. Tom had mixed feelings. He was sad that he'd missed his chance to teach a little French culture, but happy that I'd arrived.

There were at least 8 other teachers who were still waiting in lines, and Tom was off to cover another class. After that incident, I always voted after school.

I’m certain Ohio will have a huge turnout this year. Voters will be complaining about long lines and difficult polling workers. Before you complain, consider how things were 60 years ago when 18 year-olds could be drafted but not allowed to vote. Or consider that 100 years ago, women were disfranchised. (Indiana, by the way, allowed women to vote before the 19th amendment was passed. And you thought we were behind the times!) Consider our relaxed rules for early voting. But above all, consider how blessed we are to have the right to vote.