Early voting for the April 4, 2017 local election starts today.
Once upon a time Election Day was what the name described: The single day when elections were held and voters voted.
Election Day was intended to be the day when Americans could come together as a community for the purpose of casting ballots for those who will govern us. It served in many respects as a secular “holy” day, a kind of mini 4th of July for the celebration of our right to vote.
Back then you could vote early, but only if you requested an absentee ballot after stating under oath that you reasonably expected to be out of your voting district on Election Day. And only a small percentage of voters availed themselves of that option.
But not anymore.
Early voting is the strategy of political parties, the partisan politicians, and the political class professionals who make their livings by manipulating the electorate. Those folks pushed it through the Illinois General Assembly about a decade or so ago because they found it much easier to herd sympathetic or malleable voters to the polls over a period of weeks rather over a dozen hours on Election Day. Their goal became bringing in more early voters than the competition, and the earlier the better – before late-breaking events or candidate gaffes might stampede the herd in the “wrong” direction.
Because early voting protects the two party system and incumbents above all else, that should be reason enough to oppose it. But in recent years early voting has become more of a factor in our local non-partisan races as well.
So today we make one simple request: Don’t vote early.
And for good measure, don’t respond to pollsters or campaign workers asking you which candidate(s) you might be favoring. Keep ‘em guessing, keep ‘em honest (or as honest as possible), and make the candidates continue to earn your vote until the polls close at 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.
Sure, it might be easier or more convenient to vote on a Saturday morning between now and Election Day, April 4. But seriously, folks, how tough can it be to get to the polling place between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Election Day?
How many of us line up in the dead of night to be the first to see a new film, or buy event tickets, or get the latest model iPhone? So why is it such an unacceptable burden to get up a half-hour early, or get home a half-hour later, in order to cast a vote on Election Day? Do we really want our kids to grow up believing we value Cubs or Jimmy Buffett tickets, or an iPhone, more than we value self-government?
Our vote is sacred. But unless you’re a big-dollar contributor, a big-dollar bundler, or active in local government, our vote is the only chip we have in the Big Game.
So why bet it earlier than we have to?
By voting early you effectively are saying that you don’t care about hearing and weighing all the information about the candidates – including whatever information might come out in the last days of the race. That would be like a juror at a trial saying he’s ready to render his verdict while the parties are still putting on their evidence.
Free and fair elections rely on voters being fully informed about the issues and the candidates. And, like it or not, that information often keeps flowing right up to Election Day.
So don’t vote early.
To read or post comments, click on title.
13 comments so far
Which is more important voting on April 4th or getting greater than 50% of the voters to actually vote over an extended period of time?
Is it acceptable to you to vote early if we have to be out of town on business on April 4th?
Let’s say I support current Mayor Maloney. Will my vote change between now and April 4th? This isn’t the lessor of two evils, in my opinion. Also, this really isn’t a jury trial awaiting all of the evidence to be released.
Based on their positions you know where they stand.
I don’t expect Wikileaks to be sending out emails of how Maloney has conspired to rob the city of millions of dollars. I don’t think he is colluding with the Russians, or the Chinese, or the North Koreans to win the election.
Your request or plea to not vote early is a non starter.
You should comment on the candidates and their positions, as you typically do. That way I can vote for all of those you oppose!!! That last comment was a joke by the way. I actually appreciate your insights on the candidates.
Sincerely,
Frank N. Stein
EDITOR’S NOTE: Are you sure you’re not Dr. Frank-N-Furter?
We intend to comment on the candidates and their positions, but we don’t believe we’ve heard them all yet.
If that doesn’t matter to you, however, you’ve got the right to be an under-informed voter – a status with which you already sound comfortable.
Voted yesterday as some of us appreciate the opportunity to do so early when employers and family and long lines on election day make it difficult and stressful. If you really believe some crucial new info will come out between now and election day I have a feeling you also believe in other forms of voter suppression. Hope you don’t get a nosebleed from the altitude up on your high horse. And instead of publishing your endorsements here it might be more efficient to just email them directly to the few people who actually care.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks, MWR, for another chuckle – compliments of your paranoid-but-nevertheless-irrelevant class warfare (“voter suppression”) nonsense and the notion that you’ve actually got anything better to do on Election Day than vote.
Time to start organizing the Park Ridge chapter of the “Elizabeth Warren 2020” campaign.
The Facebook trolling by John Moran is creepy.
Did Fuksa steal his girlfriend in high school?
Alderman Moran comments and creeps every post. Odd
He’s changed my vote. I’m not voting for Marty now.
When a sitting Alderman nose is so far up the the current mayor…there’s a selfish reason. I’m sure he’s waiting for his turn next.
Dude, get a hobby.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If that’s all it took to change your vote, you either weren’t voting for Maloney in the first place or you’re an idiot.
We also find it a whole lot creepier for somebody like yourself to anonymously troll Ald. Moran’s commments about Fuksa.
Not sure how crucial it is to everyone’s vote for Park Ridge Mayor, but in the spirit of full transparency, Acting Mayor Maloney should at least admit he’s been approached by a staff member of IL Speaker of the House (D) Mike Madigan’s team to run for political office at the state level with the backing of the Democratic National party. Knowing how critical you’ve been of Madigan over the years, I’ll be surprised if you ignore this comment and not call out the acting mayor to respond.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Before we call out anybody, where’s your evidence of this Madigan – Maloney grand plan?
PubDog- Are you not at all concerned with the active campaigning and fundraising advocacy by TWO sitting Alderman?
Moran and Medlosian are all over social media, even sending mailed letters.
Also, may Medlosian (your bud) was the right choice, but do not be hypocritical when the guy sends out a fundraising email/letter for the Mayor, then gets appointed by Maloney. It stinks of typical politics.
The city does not need a block of elected officials being BFF’s.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Maybe you’re new to Park Ridge, but sitting aldermen – as well as people with designs on becoming aldermen – have always actively campaigned and fundraised for mayoral candidates.
Melidosian was recommended to Maloney by five people whose integrity we have no reason to question. And that recommendation came after hours of public interviews and a public deliberation by the committee members – the tapes of which were posted for public scrutiny before Melidosian’s appointment was voted on by the Council.
So if that “stinks of typical politics,” why aren’t you beefing to high heaven about the D-64 Board’s running into yet another its regular closed sessions to decide on Terry Cameron getting Paterno’s vacant board seat?
Suggest you ask Maloney and see what he says. 🙂
EDITOR’S NOTE: Suggest you put up or shut up.
The argument that Fuksa hasn’t held a public office, either elected or appointed, is a persuasive one. But what I find even more persuasive is that I can find no record of his interest in City government, even if only to show up at a Council meeting to support or oppose something or other.
Your insistence on calling me “MWR” is odd. It’s funny how confident you are about so many matters and issues yet you continue to misidentify me. Makes one wonder how completely clueless you are about most things you present as “facts.”
So Madigan approached DEMOCRAT Maloney…and DEMOCRAT Moran supports Marty. Hmmmm let’s connect the patronage dots.
Maloney to state rep, Moran to Mayor. AWWW.. now we know how all of OLD Park Ridge works.
Cute little combine we got here.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Better go tell Marty Moylan and Matt Bogusz.
And Obama wiretapped Trump Tower.
Marty Maloney wants Park Ridge to be a Sanctuary City! Wtf.
Pretty extreme position. Me thinks we could use resources elsewhere.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Time to open a hijab, niqab and burka shop. Is the former Jos. A. Banks site is still available?
Marty Maloney never said he wants PR to be a sanctuary city. He said he’d be open to discussing the topic. Big difference, but actual facts don’t seem to matter much these days.
Hey anon 354— even entertaining the idea of paying for illegals to crowd our schools and use our services DISQUALIFIES him.
Out of touch and clearly a far left winger. Marty wants to be part of mike Madigan corrupt Illinois dem party. No thanks
EDITOR’S NOTE: Complaining about “even entertaining” an idea sounds a whole lot like the thought police. Pretty stupid and un-American, but not surprising.
And you keep riding that one-trick pony without a shred of evidence to support it. Just saying it doesn’t make it true…but, of course, you know it isn’t.
Just got a letter today from Fuksa about this sanctuary city thing. Really pissed me off. This guy thinks he is going to scare me into voting for him. He doesn’t even understand the term. It is a non-issue in Park Ridge. I expect this kind of B.S. at the state or federal level, but for Park Ridge mayor? This guy’s tactics are low class for this town.
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