DOING THE RIGHT THING

Who said that Iowans were just a bunch of farmers

The first time I became involved with politics was when my curiosity overcame my lack of knowledge about the “hidden” process. The gears that were turning behind the scenes. Mostly out of view or cared about by the average voter. That lack of caring unfortunately still holds true today. I wanted to see and learn real democracy from the inside out and become a cog in the wheel. I was taught in school that we all were part of a “representative government”. I wanted to see what the Founding Fathers had in mind.

I have been a loyal voter since my first Presidential election in 1972 when Richard Nixon won re-election. Voting “booths” with levers to close the curtains and to cast your ballots were the latest innovation to speed up the process and replace handwritten paper ballots. The lever “locked in” your choice and as you opened the lever to draw the curtain to leave, voila. Ballot cast. You couldn’t turn back the speedometer or tamper with the count. In the nineties I was driven to learn how the whole thing worked. The who, what, where, and how the candidates were chosen. The political gears and secret handshakes. I went to my first caucus in Colorado Springs, observed the process, volunteered as a delegate and was chosen by majority vote, with a “paper” handwritten ballot to represent our precinct in the Colorado State Convention. This system appeared to me to be the most direct, honest, and simple example of democracy in action. One “Man” one vote. Delegates represented the candidates and voters chosen by the majority to represent their precinct. I was fascinated and amazed. A simple system that has gone terribly wrong today. In the sixties and seventies, the caucus system was used as the method of choice. Over time the “primary system” to choose the candidates began to become the name of the game. For example, according to Bing, “between 1968 and 1992, the number of states using primary elections increased significantly. For Democrats the number of primaries rose from fifteen to forty. For Republicans from fifteen to thirty-nine”. Today there are only six states using the caucus. Iowa is one of the last holdouts. Now let’s examine the good and the bad of Iowa. Even though the media screwed up by calling the winners too early. I still was able to watch for myself the real time vote count calculated before midnight. The SAME day! Voter ID and paper ballots work. One man one vote still holds true. Now the bad. Democrats were able to change party affiliation on the fly and vote a “monkey wrench” into the process. What? Why. Also, they could change their affiliation back the next day. They could in effect legally vote in more than one election under two parties.

The solution(s). Eliminate the ability to change party affiliation within 90 days of election day. Mandate that voters must maintain affiliation until after the next election(s) in that year. Make Voter ID necessary in ALL ELECTIONS whether local or national. Insist voters provide “legal status” to cast a vote. Outlaw “super delegates”. Vote for legislation that states must use paper balloting. One election in one day. Return to the real reason for absentee balloting. Eliminate drop boxes and ballot harvesting. Finally. Learn the process. Get involved. Get off your butts and VOTE.

THOMAS ANTKOW is currently a freelance writer and produced and hosted his own daily radio show on KCSF AM 1300 and co-hosted talk shows for KVOR AM 740 for Cumulus Broadcasting in Colorado Springs. He can be reached at taradio863@gmail.com