Drawing for position?

So I was reading about ballot positions being drawn for the next election, and I got to wondering if one’s position on the ballot really matters.

Apparently, according to what I ended up reading, it does matter, or it can sometimes. And to be completely honest, I feel myself wishing that it wasn’t so, because I don’t think it gives us regular folks, in other words, the Great Unwashed, credit for a lot of brain power.

It seems, according to more than one study, that a name listed first on the ballot is more likely to receive the vote, at least in some cases. And the cases where that’s most likely to happen are the races toward the bottom of the ballot.

In other words, if there is a high profile election – as an example, for president – then every voter (practically) goes to the polls knowing who is going to receive her or his vote for president. However, most elections also involve races with somewhat lower profiles. And according to the studies, it is in these elections that ballot position can become important.

To me, that means some folks get to the polls not knowing anything about some of the “less major” races. They might not even know there were races for that position, and may not know anything about the candidates. Therefore they pull the lever, or touch the screen, or mark the ballot or punch the punchcard for the first person listed. And that may be enough to tilt the election.

All of which means, of course, that there are office seekers in some of those minor races who hope they get on the ballot first, and that enough dummies without the first clue about their particular contest will simply vote for them because they’re first.

It shows a pretty low opinion of the intelligence of the voting public, or at least a sizeable portion of it. And it makes me wonder if some of the things I’ve written in the past were inappropriate.

By that, I mean I have often written scathing opinions about those who do not bother to vote. Now, having thought about it in terms of voting for the first on the ballot, it occurs to me that if they don’t know for what or whom they’re voting, maybe they should just stay home.

Or if they don’t know about a certain race, leave that position blank. I believe there is a separate category for this called “undervotes,” and they have them in every election. I still think that people who don’t vote have given up their right to complain, but at least they didn’t contribute to the mayhem.

I remember in school and later as a fledgling reporter, being told how important it was to have an “informed public.” I have since learned that while some news media do their best to inform the public, a lot of the public isn’t interested.

At some point, the job of informing the public goes over to the public. One has to pick up the blooming newspaper and read it, or turn on the radio or TV, or yes, even the computer. One has to make an effort, and a lot of folks simply do not make that effort.

I’ve told the story before about many years ago when there was a special school election coming up. I was sent out to do “man on the street” interviews about it. I couldn’t find enough people who even knew there was going to be an election, to do an article. Admittedly, this was definitely not a presidential election, with months and months of campaigning leading up to it. And special elections tend to draw the least public attention (which is why some officials like them, I think). But I was sorely disappointed.

I guess that drawing for ballot position is the fairest possible way to decide who goes first. According to one of the articles I read, it used to be done alphabetically in some places, and sneaky politicians would actually have their names changed to put them higher on the ballot. So they went to drawing for position. I have no idea how widespread that practice was in reality, but it was good for a chuckle.

The best way to get rid of that “he who is listed first” problem, of course, is for people to educate themselves about candidates. But we’ve already touched on that. Guess we’ll just have to keep going like we are, and hope the best folks win.

Okay, are we done with ice and snow? I firmly believe we have had enough of it – not only for now, but for a few years in the future. I mean, really!

Someone said that this last snow was perfect, falling on Friday night and gone by Sunday. But I still had to de-snow my car Saturday.

Personally, I’m ready to get on to warmer weather, with thunderstorms, tornado watches and the like. Around here, we’re more used to dealing with that.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: David Nichol is a freelance writer who retired from the Times-Herald. He can be contacted at nicholdb@cablelynx.com.)