Your Vote is Too Precious to Waste!

Both Canada and the United States are countries built on immigration. People came from other countries to make one of these two countries their true home.

I am an immigrant to United States from Canada and even though many people think these two countries are very much alike, there are some differences, some of which I am reminded of daily.

For me personally, I think there two struggles I have each day, The first is with language – yes, people think I have an accent, even after twelve years – and the other is my choice of words. I know that my outlook is a little more (little “c”) conservative and old-fashioned than my American friends. Be aware that Texas is full of people who came here from other states. The common saying is, “I was not born a Texan, but I got here as fast as I could!” So I feel this is more an American thing than a Texas thing. Actually, I could not have come to a friendlier state than Texas!

My point that I want to convey is that immigrants work very hard to achieve citizenship status. I was seven years working to achieve all the rights an American citizen has. (I committed to memory a lot of information that people born in the United States forgot after completing their education.) One of those rights is the RIGHT TO VOTE!

I see that only 58% of Canadians voted in yesterday’s general election. Stephen Harper is back in with a minority government. Under the Canadian system, patterned after the British system, that means Mr. Harper will have to work very hard to get along with and secure support from the other parties. I am not sure that all reading this will know that a vote of non-confidence can turf out the Prime Minister in Canada and cause another election. There is not a standard four year term as in United States. So, sometimes, this type of result actually works for the good of the country because the elected officials have to work together, one hopes for the good of the country.

The result is not what bothers me; rather it is the 42% of Canadians who did not vote. Was there extreme weather that kept them from the polls? Not likely on October 14. Could the people not get off work? No, I think everywhere there are laws that employers must allow time off for voting.

APATHY! LAZINESS! “My vote won’t matter!”

Well, we are just under three weeks to Tuesday, November 4th, the date set for the United States General Election.

Will our turnout be better than Canada’s? Will it be worse?

The e-mails and comments indicate that everybody knows there is an election coming. More people are talking about this election than usual. Will they actually vote?

Every single vote DOES count so make sure yours is counted!

It is unforgivable that individuals cannot get out and actually vote for the candidate they think will do the best job for the country. Some people are saying that they just won’t vote because they don’t like either Presidential Candidate. That is not the answer! If you truly believe neither Candidate is better, than you best vote for the less offensive candidate. But, please vote!

(64% of eligible American voters voted in the U.S. 2004 Presidential Election, up from 60% in 2000.)

Getting The Vote Out!

Well, now those of us with dual citizenship and dual affinities have two elections to watch! Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has dissolved Parliament and called an Election. 

Back in pre-historic times when I worked on elections in Toronto’s affluent North End, we pounded the pavement with low tech methods designed to get the vote out. This was in the early 60s. 

Let me explain briefly how we did that. 

First, each “canvasser” was handed a (paper) voting list, some campaign pamphlets and a couple of pencils. Each list probably covered two square city blocks. (North Toronto has “city blocks” – nice squares of established two and three storey homes on approximately 40 to 50 foot lots.) 

Each of us went up and down the sidewalks, walking up the paths and knocking on the front door of each house. 

Now, when I knocked on the door, I was ready. When the person opened the door, I said, 

“Hello, I am working for John Doe, your Progressive-Conservative candidate.” I handed the householder the piece of literature and stayed quiet to observe the other person’s reaction. 

There were three possible reactions: 

“I am not interested.” (Take that as maybe, uncommitted or not voting.) 

“I am voting Liberal. (Take that as a “NO”.) 

“Ah, yes, I really like that guy and I am going to vote for him! (Take that as a “YES”.) 

Now, if the person wanted to chat about the PC candidate, of course, I stayed and probably told them where the next rally would be. I probably showed the telephone number on the brochure so they could phone, offering support for candidate in a more industrious way. 

After the householder closed the door and I had walked down the steps and down the path to the sidewalk, I marked my Voter’s List with the appropriate “uncommitted”, definite “NO’ or definite “YES”. 

After doing the canvass, the Voter’s Lists were turned in and someone else at Party Headquarters would make a copy (probably manually) on another Voters List of my comments. A worker would look up the telephone numbers, note them beside the possible PC voters’ names, and the Voter’s Lists were kept for Election Day. 

On Election Day, we had workers who were there, marking off who had voted. We were right there. I have to tell you that we did not know who they voted for but if it was someone we had shown as likely to vote PC, which was a plus! 

Now, about 2:00 to 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon, we had more workers ready to “get the vote out”. We would look at the people who had been assessed as voting PC and if some had not yet voted, we telephoned them. 

“This is Mary from Mr. Doe’s office and we notice you have not yet voted! Could we give you a ride to your polling place?” 

For most people this was really just a reminder, and the response was generally that when hubby came home, they were going to vote together. 

Some people, especially seniors, indicated that they would be happy to be picked up and driven to the polling station where they would vote (hopefully for our candidate.) 

Then, there was my Aunt Helen. I’m pretty sure she was a staunch Liberal. She would tell me the next day that she had voted and indicated she had been driven to the poll. When I would ask her who drove her to vote, she would answer, 

“The party with the most handsome drivers, of course!” 

You gotta love that answer. However, it also shows that the system may not have been flawless! 

My point is that all the campaigning and all the opinion polls will not determine who gets voted in. The bottom line is getting the people to vote. That means absentee ballots for those away at school, early voting for those in retirement communities and those who know they will be away. We also must get young people now eligible to vote to register and reminding them to actually get out to vote! 

Barack Obama has a history of getting young people and new citizens registered. He has done this in the past and is doing it now! So, it behooves Mr. McCain’s people to do the same thing. 

Getting the Vote Out – That is how to be elected President of the United States!