Oct 18 2008
About Those E-Mails
Every election brings a rash of e-mails that never seem to reach anyone who believes them but always reach hundreds that are convinced that someone else believes them. The biennial favorite is the one that tells people of the opposite persuasion to vote on Wednesday. These e-mails are routinely offered up as a supposed voter suppression tactic, although I’ve never believed it to be anything more than not-so-funny joke. We’ve never gotten a call from anyone asking if it was true, but dozens of e-mails from people who are convinced someone else will believe it.
This year there are at least two e-mails circulating that have a few people up in arms. The first is that if you wear political buttons or clothing into the polling place that a judge will ask you to leave or cover up the political material. This one is true, but it’s hardly new to this election. This has been happening for decades. It applies equally to each party. I think most states have something similar in place. This is not some new scheme devised by either political party.
The second one claims that voters are being requested to vote straight party and vote for the candidate as well. This doesn’t affect the State of Illinois because we don’t have straight party voting. In other states, it’s affect would be negligible if not nonexistent. I think every state except New York has new voting equipment that would detect any error that would negate a vote and give the voter a chance to remake their ballot. Under the old Illinois straight party voting system, a straight party vote along with a vote for a candidate for president would not negate your vote. I’m pretty confident most states and most equipment treats these votes that way.
Be prepared for more chain e-mails with little credibility but that excite a lot of angst. Perhaps someone will combine a few elements. “My name is Mr. Ovalfiller. I am the foreign minister for the nation of Votzinazius. If you will only vote for Fred Smith for President of the United States, I will transfer $200 million into your bank account.”
