Thinking past election day

As you read this, it’s a matter of hours before voting in the presidential election is over. That’s not to say that a final verdict will be determined. As we saw four years ago, if the election is close as every analysis indicates that it will be, it may be weeks before the actual victor knows the final results. Remember the 2020 election where Vice President Al Gore thought he had won, but the Supreme Court determined otherwise? So let me pass along some pre-election commentary from a guy who oversaw the election process in Louisiana for eight years back in the 1980s.
First of all, I like the idea of voting on election day. Oh I suppose it’s more convenient to be able to vote by mail or by absentee in the few locations offering this option. I just think there is something special of casting my vote on election day itself. Taking one of my grandchildren along to watch me pull my lever as I vote, visiting briefly with voting commissioners who often have been precinct workers for a number of years, and feeling the special spirit of the democratic process all taking place as we pick our future leaders.
I continued that special feeling of an election day commitment even during the time that I was Secretary of State and ran the Louisiana elections process. My voting precinct was located at Ward one, Precinct one at the Summerall Flying Service located off a dirt road just outside of the town of Ferriday on Lake Concordia. I suppose because I was running the elections that no one really objected to my keeping an election day commitment even though it took a lot of driving. I was up at 3 AM and drove the 2 ½ hours from Baton Rouge to my voting location. I had called in advance to the owner of the local donut shop in Ferriday to have me a box of donuts ready for a quick pickup to give them to these early rising elections commissioners, all whom I have known for a number of years. I was the first to cast my ballot, and after a short visit with my old friends, I headed back to Baton Rouge and the State capital to oversee the election day process. Now that’s a commitment to vote on election day, right?
Oh, and I generally made a quick visit to the local coffee shop with my old friend Sam Hanna, newspaper publisher of the Concordia Sentinel. For years, we have been meeting early on election day to make our projections, and maybe even share a bet or two on several of the candidates.
And let me tell you this. Both small and large newspapers were extremely important then, and every bit as important today. Election ballots are often quite long with local, state and national candidates to consider as well as local propositions and constitutional amendments. I just don’t see how someone can be an informed voter without doing a little pre-election research , and by following the key issues and candidates in their local newspapers. Since 2005, more than 2900 local newspapers of shut down across the nation. Just this week, The West Side Journal in Port Allen closed after 88 years of publication. Such endings leave many communities without any source of local news. The Internet, in my opinion, just does not serve as a satisfying alternative. There is nothing as enjoyable and practical as sitting down with a good cup of coffee and my local newspaper to start off the day.
I also wonder how each of us who vote are individually affected by who is elected as our next national leader. Will the new president really make any difference in our lives? Fodder for a new column later down the road. For now, I’m like many of you readers who are glad the campaigning is coming to an end.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown