By Eric W. Schoen
I knew it was over when President Donald Trump, speaking to a group of Florida Senior citizens told them that because of then Presidential candidate Joe Biden’s extreme energy policies they would not have air conditioning if Biden was elected President.
What makes someone say something as nutty as that? It made me think of the television shows I watched as a child where T.V. Host Art Linkletter interviewed adults and kids and they would say the most outrageous things. Did Trump really think he was going to scare senior citizens into voting for him over air conditioning?
This year many of us voted by absentee ballot due to our concern over COVID-19. Many voted during the early voting process. When absentee ballots are counted or when you vote at the polls either through early voting or on Election Day, there are at least one Democrat and one Republican election official observing and running the operation.
Even before votes started to be cast President Trump had concerns about how votes were going to be tallied and whether election results would be counted fairly. If you have such concerns bring them to the attention of political leaders and bring your own people in.
The people who work the polls on Election Day put in a long day, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. or later. Do you think they appreciate being criticized before the process begins. Bad enough the conditions they work in are not always the greatest. Same goes for those processing absentee ballots. Did you view the warehouses that the ballots were being processed in on television? Not exactly the Taj Mahal. Add the threat of COVID-19 to the picture, and you see why election officials in Westchester were advertising up until the last minute for people to work the polls for early voting and on Election Day.
Elections have been taking place in this country without problems for many years. Did Trump really think there was going to be such massive fraud? Again he should have had his people either specially train poll workers or have political leaders appoint his supporters to work through the election process.
Don’t claim there is fraud without backing it up. He has been publicly told this by some of his key supporters throughout the country. And as this column goes to press there have been no specific incidents of fraud uncovered by Trump supporters. I guess that is why the Department of Justice official charged with investigating fraud in the elections process resigned earlier this week.
Look at all the rallies President Trump had in the days leading up to Election Day in big arenas with people not socially distanced and not wearing face coverings. Does this show leadership. On Election Night the President had some of his supporters to the White House for what they thought was going to be a celebration. And now we find out that one of Trump’s Cabinet Secretaries has the coronavirus.
Earlier this week Pfizer right here in neighboring Rockland County announced that they have produced a vaccine that during clinical trials has proven 90% effective. And one of the Trump boys had the audacity to call the timing of the result, a week after Election Day in question. Does anyone really think that a company who is being paid big dollars by the current administration in the White House is going to hold off the announcement of positive test results because of an election. Let’s start talking sense her folks.
Before I bring this column to a close and while we are talking about masks, face coverings and COVID-19 I have to share with you 2 things that I witnessed in Rockland County while shopping last week. I went to a new supermarket that just opened in April and saw an elderly man not wearing a mask shopping with his family. His family members had masks on. I went up to a supervisor at the store who went over to the man and told him he needed to have a mask on in the store. He pulls the mask right out of his shopping cart and puts it on. Nuts?
A little later I stopped in Target and they have an announcement over the loud speaker clear as can be that if you are shopping in the store you must have a mask on covering your nose and your mouth. I see not one, not two but three young ladies shopping together in the store with masks on just covering just their mouth and not their nose. After my earlier escapade I took it upon myself to tell the young ladies they needed to cover their noses which they promptly did.
Are the man and the young ladies so oblivious to the news reports that say that masks and face coverings are not only the law but are affective in stopping the spread of the COVID-19? I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
Back to the election. Voters waiting in line hours to vote is not acceptable. Election officials need to bring in more machines to polling places to speed the process. For a Presidential Election year more early voting locations need to be set up and more machines have to be used. Many polling sites are School buildings. Years ago schools were closed on Election Day. Now school districts use the day for staff training. At least for the Presidential Election schools need to be free of students and staff so there is plenty of space for the poll workers and the voting equipment to be spread out in the building.,
After the first Presidential Debate things got a lot better. But I still question the need for these debates and what they accomplish. There were no people in the venues where the debates were being held. I like it that way. No need for the clapping and howling people we always see and hear when the citizenry is invited to in person view the debates.
Absentee ballots that are postmarked by Election Day should started to be counted in the days following Election Day and not have a week waiting period for them to be returned by the Post Office to the Board of Elections. Way too much time given the long leeway people have to request an absentee ballot.
New York should allow voting by mail as they did This year even if no crisis or pandemic occurs. Boards of Elections, long operated by political leaders have to be professionalized and money has to be allocated for sufficient training of poll workers. Politicians should not cry on Election Day when things go wrong but should chart out a course for election success.
Every vote counts on Election Day. We need to make some changes bringing the system up to date and fine tune what has been put in place. We’ve been voting so many years without the problems we currently see and updating an out of date system should benefit everyone.
Mr. Trump. It’s time to realize that Joe Biden is going to be President of these great United States come January. Let the transition begin! And enjoy your air conditioning Floridians!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM, go to WVOX.com and click the arrow to listen to the live stream or download the WVOX app from the App Store free of charge.
