Lest We Overlook The Basics

Amidst all the primary election hubbub, the basics of the voting process often get little notice.  This was brought home to me when doing a segment for Channel 13 and a discussion with Elissa Rivas regarding that process.

Question:  There are those who have expressed interest in voting for a presidential candidate in one primary, but voting for candidates for other positions in the other primary.  Can this be done?

Answer:  No.  When you go to vote, you will choose to vote in one of the party’s primaries and thus will be voting only for that party’s candidates. 

They’ll Be Flocking to the Polls

There has been much speculation about what has driven the extremely high turn out of voters during early voting in Texas and why there are predictions of a record turn out on Tuesday.

Yes, the hotly contested Democratic presidential primary contest has energized voters—traditional Democrats, independents (many of whom might ordinarily vote in the Republican primary) and first time voters.  And it has energized traditional Republicans to vote in the Democratic primary.

In addition, I think there are a couple of other factors.  For the first time since 1928 there is not a sitting president or vice president of either major party seeking the nomination.  This historical footnote to this election has been oft mentioned and thus I do think it is serving to inspire participation in the process. 

Lastly, I think Florida and the 2000 presidential election are still fresh in mind.  The closeness of that election reaffirmed that an individual’s vote does count.  That just may be in the back of many minds as voters flock to the polls in Texas and elsewhere.

- Peter Roussel

Comments

[Karen Cohen]

Thank you for a refresher on the basics of voting.

I just want to know one thing....

Why don't we handle the hiring of a president of our nation, undeniably the most important job in the nation, in the same way as if we were hiring the most important employee in the nation? Is this not the most important employment decision we as Americans make every four years?

I would propose that we convert a confusing and convoluted electoral college process to a straightforward hiring process. I would feel so much better if all the presidential candidates had to submit resumes, have their references checked and have background checks. Would it be better if we had a presidential hiring director that first checked the candidates facebook, myspace and online presences and then reviewed the resumes. This early research would allow the presidential hiring manager to toss those into the circular file cabinet while the better candidates moved on to further inspection.

What would happen if presidential candidates had to sit for skills testing? We can only imagine how difficult the Public Welfare or Foreigh Policy Tests might be. How many of the candidates would need extra time to complete the Ethics and Morals Test? Of course, instituting a series of Presidential Proficiency Tests might spawn new industries like Presidential Test Prep Courses, Summer Institutes or Distance Learning. It's high time that Presidential Candidates sweat their test scores the way students nationwide sweat their College and Graduate School Placement Tests.

When the field of Presidential Candidates was narrowed to only those best candidates for the requirements of the job of President, then the candidates would sit for interviews. Not debates with television cameras and make up artists, but a series of single and group interviews with middle Americans, retirees, struggling families, teachers and veterans. In those interviews, the candidates would have to answer a wide variety of questions. First there would be questions about the experience they've represented on their resumes. Then they would have to answer questions on how they would improve typical problems in America. Finally they would be asked behavioral questions to determine how they would behave in certain stressful situations.

I'd like to see candidates evaluated for the sum of all their qualifications, not just the talent of their speech writers or their personal charm. This is logical thinking.

Yes, I know this proposition is preposterous. But then this is America, the land of the Free and Home of the Brave. A land born of the preposterous ideas of our forefathers.

Karen Cohen
Publisher, http://blog.technicalwritingtoday.com/

[Peter Roussel]

You have raised some very interesting ideas here. Have you considered submitting this for consideration to a newspaper's opinion editorial page where they print such submissions from readers?