I am going to make some predictions. By summer’s end, you will have made an agreement with someone about issues you will not discuss together for the sake of peace. Somewhere in the middle of October, you will harbor an overwhelming urge to chuck a brick through your TV screen. You will spend the last few weeks of October and the beginning of November alternating between “dread” at the thought that your world is about to spiral downward into the abyss and “giddy” hope that maybe, just maybe, the world is about to become a much better place. Is it my psychic ability which allows me to foretell all of this? Of course not. I know these things because it is an election year.
Perhaps you are laboring under the delusion that you will stay above the fray. However, unless you know of a nice, well supplied cave with to hide in for the next 7 months, this election will be hard to avoid. Fortune Magazine has predicted that the 2008 presidential election will cost up to 3 billion dollars. That’s a lot of commercials, billboards, campaign signs and telephone calls.
Whether you throw yourself into the excitement of a presidential election with the fervor of a tent meeting revivalist or you find yourself pondering the advantages of living in a monarchy during campaign season, now’s the time to think about how to handle your role in our democracy with dignity and grace.
We often hear about how important it is for us to vote. People of faith, in particular are often encouraged by their churches and their personal concerns for social justice, the environment, the dignity of life, and well being of the family to make their voices heard. However, after the 2000 election, many people came away discouraged. There was a perception that the presidency was stolen, that voters had been disenfranchised, and that the system was so error prone it bordered illegitimate. Then in 2004, problems with long lines, faulty voter registration roles, and malfunctioning or suspect equipment caused people to ask again if our democracy was functioning properly. While the closeness of the last two presidential elections has validated the truism that every vote counts, it has also highlighted how precarious and error prone tallying every vote is.
Although faith in our electoral system has been damaged, the historic nature of the upcoming election will likely mean that most people are going to have a hard time staying away from the polls. Fortunately, there are many things the average person can do to increase the possibility that each vote is counted.
Above and beyond what we do as citizens, as Christians, it is vital that we keep a proper perspective. Sometimes the worries and cares of this world are so urgent and the promises of politicians so grand, we lose sight of where our ultimate hope lies. In Psalms 118:8 David, a political creature himself says, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.” The specific candidate you support will inevitably fail you should he or she take office. God will not. We must not make an idol out of politics expecting it to take the place of our Lord or do the work that we ourselves ought to be doing. As high as the stakes of this or any other election may be, we can never forget the source of our hope. With this in mind, it is also helpful to remember that a democracy is always a work in progress. We started as a nation with only a selected few permitted to vote. Today we have a nearly universal right for adult citizens to vote. A great deal of lobbying, fighting, protesting and even dying were required to secure this right.
The 2000 and 2004 elections were marred by some specific problems. Thankfully, the average person can help to correct most of these problems by taking some simple steps. One of the easiest and most vital things you can do is register to vote early. In many places in the 2004 election, long lines presented a real obstacle in voting. Post election analysis found that last minute voter registration drives in urban areas resulted in heavier than anticipated turn-out in some precincts. Because decisions on how to allocate available voting machines had been made months earlier based on voter registration roles at that time, people in these urban areas were left waiting in lines for hours while voters in nearby suburban areas were in and out in minutes. The earlier you register, the easier it is for officials charged with planning “election day” logistics to appropriately allocate limited resources.
If you are not currently registered to vote, or have changed addresses since the last election, contact your Secretary of State office for information on how to make sure you are properly registered to vote. It is best to go directly to your state’s official website or your town or county commissioner’s office to obtain this information rather than relying on materials provided by outside groups. Unfortunately, there have been reports of rouge groups providing inaccurate information regarding voter registration rules. Likewise, it is better to mail your registration directly to the government instead of relying on groups which run registration drives to turn the paperwork in for you. It’s not over reaching to suggest voter registration papers get thrown out rather than turned into the appropriate government offices.
In the 2000 and 2004 elections some people were prevented from voting by inaccurate voter registration roles. States require periodic purges of voter registration roles to remove duplicate entries, those who have moved, died or lost the right to vote due to a felony conviction. Some states remove your name if you do not vote in two consecutive election cycles. These purges are a good way to ensure that people aren’t, as they say in Chicago, “voting early and often”. However, sometimes legitimate voters are erroneously removed from registration roles. You can avoid this by contacting your Secretary of State’s office to verify that your name; properly spelled and with the correct address, is displayed on your state’s voter registration roles.
Once you are sure you’re registered to vote, take time to look at the sample ballot your state mails out before an election. Tens of thousands of votes are not properly counted in a typical election because of errors made by voters. A few minutes at home to familiarize yourself with the ballot you will see in the poll booth can prevent your vote from being lost. In addition to reviewing the voting ballot, make sure you know the correct polling place. Your local government or your Secretary of State’s office can help you find your polling place. If you do go to the wrong polling place you can cast a provisional ballot. However, your vote will be held for verification and require extra time and attention from poll workers at that location, slowing the process for everybody. Once you know your polling location, view claims that your polling place has moved with suspicion. False information regarding polling place location changes is occasionally spread by those with ulterior motives.
Finally, if you have concerns about the legitimacy of the system, consider volunteering to be a poll worker. Poll workers direct voters where to go, check voter registrations, answer questions about ballots and generally oversee operations at the polling place. Being directly involved in the process affords you the opportunity to judge for yourself how our election process works. If there are problems which undermine the legitimacy of the process you will be uniquely situated to raise the alarm. If you are interested in volunteering, contact the local precinct where you would like to volunteer and ask for information on being a poll worker. You will be required to attend a training session and be registered to vote. You may also be asked to choose a party affiliation in order to ensure balance and fair representation at each polling sight.
As important as elections are, our democratic process depends on more than voting. On issues you care about, make it a habit contacting your politicians between elections to voice your opinions. This is especially important if your favored candidate loses. If you are civil in expressing your concerns, they may not change their minds, but you can expect that they will listen and respond. This sort of contact is a powerful reminder to politicians that their constituents are paying attention and will hold them accountable.
On November 4th the election will end. On January 20th a new president will take the oath. However, that does not mean that your part in making this country a better place is over. Ultimately the fate of our own lives and communities lies not with our elected officials in Washington, but with how we live and how we serve our neighbors. A “right” political vote is no substitute for “right” personal action. In mid October, resist chucking that brick through the TV and keep it in perspective. This is a historic election, but our fate lies elsewhere: “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:17
