By Eric Schoen
The tongue-in-cheek phrase ‘Vote early and vote often’ was often uttered in relation to elections and the voting process. Though rarely considered a serious suggestion, the phrase encourages corrupt electoral activity, but is used mostly to suggest the occurrence of such corruption.
The phrase had its origins in the United States in the mid-19th century, and had an early appearance in Britain when a newspaper reprinted correspondence from an American solicitor. The phrase did not find widespread use until the early 1900s when it was used in relation to the activities of organized crime figures in the city of Chicago.
Elections in Chicago are still quite often thought to be ‘tainted’ but the widespread system of checks and balances in place we like to hope prevents one person from having more than one vote. And also prevents the dead rising from their graves to cast votes at local polling sites.
With panic over the influence of other countries on our elections and the wide use of mail in ballots and early voting, a candidate or political party that encouraged people to ‘Vote Early and Vote Often’ would probably be arrested in this day and age. Particularly after the ‘hanging chads’ Bush vs. Gore Election earlier this century, people have come to question the security of the voting process.
Hence we see lines like we saw last weekend with people throughout the country and right here in Westchester County waiting 2-4 plus hours to cast their votes. Kind of surprising when we can simply vote by mail at the cost of a forever stamp to make our voice heard. Friends of my sister waited on those lines in Yonkers and New York City.
When my sister heard of this she asked me if maybe we too should have gotten on those massive lines to cast our votes. Taken the summer beach chairs out of the closet and sit on Central Avenue in Yonkers taking in the car fumes from below. Lining up at the Riverfront library in downtown Yonkers watching the trains go by. The once beautiful view of the majestic Hudson River has been diminished by the various luxury housing projects that block it for the most part from public view.
The sun was not shining so chances of getting that ‘glow’ that makes you look good during the summer, filled with Vitamin D was not happening. In terms of the Riverfront library, on a chilly day standing or sitting waiting for the ability to perform your civic duty with brisk winds from the Hudson might give you a wind burn but not much else.
By the way for either of these options the Board Of Elections was not to the best of my knowledge providing socially distanced seating for your wait. Hence, those who braved the lines last weekend were left to stand tall throughout the whole voting ordeal. As I told my sister it’s not happening for us.
Did we ever have such chaos when we voted via the old fashioned election lever machines for some every 4 years and others like me every year for whatever election was on our respective ballots? We would go in to our polling place, maybe wait a little bit in a Presidential election year and cast our votes.
I did it for the first time 2 days after my father had died and I was 18 and old enough to vote. I went into the polling place which was the old Police Precinct on Radford Street. Signed the big book. Went into the lever machine, pulled the handle to close the curtain. Pulled the lever for friends Dick Ottinger and Tom McInerney though our family was close with Dr. Shirley Werthaimer who tragically lost her daughter in the JCC fire and had gone to college with my mom. Used the handle to open the curtains, my vote was counted and I walked out proud to be an American.
A Note: Shirley was the spoiler in the election of 1978 splitting the votes which allowed Nick Spano (you know that name) to become the State Assemblyman for the 87th Assembly District. Hard to believe it was over 40 years ago!
For many years before they had the bright idea to move the polling place into Police Precinct it was located in the firehouse next store. The move was made into the Police station because workers and the public were inhaling the noxious fumes every time the fire engine and ladder were called out. And when the big doors to the firehouse would open and close the poor poll workers would shiver if it was a chilly November day, all bundled up watching the firefighters slide down the poles to attend the alarm at hand.
When I look back, the Firehouse voting was handicapped accessible with no steps while the voting in the Police Precinct was not. Things kind of went backwards, but I guess someone in power made the decision that the inhalation of the fumes was worse than the location not being handicap accessible.
When we were kid my parents always took my sister and I to vote with them when the machines were inside the firehouse. We went as a family and marched out proud of this great country we live in. Many families would do this, folks dressed to the nines performing this important duty.
Things ran so smoothly back in the good old days. The worse thing that could happen was in a close vote the candidates aides would take flashlights into an old musty warehouse where the machines were stored and double check the counts called in on Election Night.
There were no 1000’s of attorneys across the country looking for the simplest mistakes. When I saw folks standing on long lines in cold weather over the weekend and earlier this week, I harked for the good old days when things went so smoothly and voting was a joy.
So my friends, Vote Early and Vote Often! But most importantly, Vote!
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.
