I know you have all heard. We are having a state election on Tuesday, Nov. 8. We have been bombarded with television and newspaper ads. Our telephones have been ringing and those roadside signs are popping up everywhere.
An election is a choosing. According to my encyclopedia, such processes have been held in all times by all people. Athenian voters cast oyster-shell ballots. Roman candidates campaigned in the market place. All free countries have voting as a regular feature.
Americans have always held elections but American methods have changed since our beginning. In 1789, a voter might ride from afar through a wilderness to the polls, and scribble or mark his choices on a scrap of paper days after the first vote was cast.
Today things are better organized and voting places are warm and comfortable for voters. A person has to be a citizen of the United States to vote. There are a few restrictions on a citizen’s eligibility to vote.
For most people, we are happy we live in a free country, where we can vote for our favorite candidates and issues. Voting is a privilege and an obligation. On the right date the chosen building is opened and set up with spaces for many voters to vote at the same time.
I have a picture that shows an early voting arrangement here in Newcastle. Open hours will be given in the local newspaper for the towns in the area. Polls open early and stay open through the early evening.
If you cannot be at the voting place on the exact day, you can still vote. Absentee voting is common. This practice was first used by some of the states for Civil War soldiers in 1864. If you are a registered voter you can request an absentee ballot. The deadline to get an absentee ballot for the Nov. 8 election is Thursday, Nov. 3.
You should check with the clerk’s office on rules and regulations.
In 1965 I became a ballot clerk for the town of Newcastle. For more than 50 years I was there, at the polls, every election day and, of course, I voted. I never needed to vote absentee. I have recently retired from my position. I decided to see how it worked for an absentee voter.
I called the town office and made an appointment. At the office I was welcomed and given a table and chair, and the ballot, in a quiet spot. After marking my ballot, I turned it in to the official present and headed home. It was easy and pleasant. Being busy on the date set for the election is no excuse for not voting.
We will be voting for governor, U. S. House, Maine Senate and Maine House. In early times the governor was elected to a two-year term. This has been changed and we will elect a governor for a four-year term, with a limit of two terms.
In early times the two members of the U.S. Senate were chosen by the state legislature. The members of the House were chosen by electors (voters) in each state. We now vote for both though there are no senate candidates this time. There will be many local officers and issues on the ballot. There are many decisions to make.
Using the 2020 census, some of the districts have been revised. The new redistricting process may affect which candidate appears on your ballot. There have been changes to both Congressional districts according to an AARP bulletin.
When Maine became a state in 1820, Maine voted to hold its election in September. The September date was designed originally for the benefit of farmers. September was considered roughly between late summer harvest and early fall harvest, according to Joseph Owen in “This Day in Maine.” I remember when I was young we could never figure out why we voted at a different day from the other states. There was a little saying we all learned, “As Maine goes, so goes the nation,” Of course this was not at all right, but we all felt special and waited to see how we compared with November voting.
In 1957 Maine voters approved a change to the state constitution that ended the 137-year-old practice of holding statewide elections on the second Monday in September.
Instead, now our voting is on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, just as it is in every other state. There are, and will be other changes. If you have any questions you should check at the town office.
Of course, in the early days only men were eligible to vote. Finally, in 1920 Maine became the 19th state to ratify the 19th Amendment, which gives women the right to vote.
The decision reflects an about face from the result of a statewide referendum only two years earlier. On Sept. 10, 1917, Maine men voted by a two-to-one ratio to deny women the right to vote. Then there was a change of thought.
On Aug. 18, 1920, an amendment allowing women the right to vote took effect, when Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify it. The timing of ratification created a problem for election organizers in Maine, which was the only state to hold statewide elections in September.
They had the one month to get everything ready for early September. The women made a mad scramble to register in that one month.
Another change has been the age of voting. When I was young I could not vote until I was 21. The age has been lowered to the age of 18. It was said that it was not right for our young men to have to fight and die in a war and not be able to have a say is the country’s running.
We live in a free country and it will only remain free if we keep voting and choosing the best candidate. I’ll see you at the polls. God bless America.
