Absentee ballots are in the mail
Exactly one month before the Nov. 4 election, absentee ballots arrived in our mailbox Saturday.
Holding mine, the General Election instantly is very real. All the names are right there on the ballot for me to mark my choices with a No. 2 pencil, stuff it all in the provided envelope, get it notarized, apply 76 cents postage, and mail it to the Oklahoma County Election Board to arrive before the 7 p.m. deadline on Election Day.
I won’t be standing in long lines at my polling place, which seems to move each time Edmond gets bigger, debating my choices until I sign the big book, receive a ballot and rush through it. I did that in a high school election. A cheerleader won by 1 vote, mine. I had intended to vote for another.
This time, I can carefully review the document, gather answers to remaining questions, and reach informed personal decisions. I heard somewhere, “this is the most important election of our life time.” Gerald Ford said it in his day. Ronald Reagan said it. Bill Clinton did too. And George W. Bush’s election in 2004 also was the “most important.”
You may have forgotten you won’t be making a direct choice between McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden. Remember, it’s the Electoral College and you’ll be voting collectively for the Electors, 7 Republicans or 7 Democrats. Some names you will recognize, but not all, unless you’re really into politics.
With all this time to think about it, I can’t see any reason not to take great care with each mark with that No. 2 pencil. Today’s economic climate demands that. For Corporation Commission, what positions do the candidates hold? For Congressional officers, do you know how they’ve voted on key issues?
Those already in office recorded votes on the $700 billion bailout. They may have voted one way Monday and the opposite on Friday, in an effort to help Oklahomans. That was the same day Oklahoman Business Writer Don Mecoy wrote: “Oklahoma’s largest pension and endowment funds could lose up to $73.4 million on investments related to failed investment banking firm Lehman Brothers, the state treasurer’s office said Friday.”
This may or may not be the most important election, but it’s a good idea to treat it as though your wallet might depend upon it.
Assistant Business Editor Nancy Darnell
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