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Clerk talks about upcoming elections
With a week to go until the election, Mike Buehler, Vernon County clerk, commented about the need for more Republican and Democratic poll workers, the number of absentee ballots voted to date, a prediction for turnout next Tuesday and a response to comments that "this may be one of the worst election's this country has seen.
"It's common to have a couple of election workers call up a few days before the election and one or two on election day to say they can't make it but this year the number who volunteered and then had to drop out is much higher," said Buehler. "And please don't misunderstand, the reasons they can't come are legitimate, even pretty serious but this year there are not just one or two but quite a few."
Said election clerk, Lindsey Cooksey, "Our recent plea for help did get several people to volunteer but today I need a few more, both Republicans and Democrats, to serve as poll workers on Nov. 8."
Requirements include being a registered voter, a willingness to serve the public, work between 5:15 a.m. until about 7:15 p.m. and dress appropriately for meeting the public.
"Yes, it's a long day but you do get paid and everyone brings a lunch, snacks and has a great time talking with other poll workers and friends who come in to vote," said Cooksey.
Poll workers are paid $100.00 for the day while supervisors are paid an additional $10.00.
To volunteer, stop by the county clerk's office or simply call 448-2500, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Besides taking some simple information, the person you speak with will schedule a time to provide training at your convenience.
"I think we're at 613 absentee ballots voted so far with more to come back in the mail and I'm sure more will come in to our office this week to vote," said Amber Reasoner, data entry clerk.
Asked for a prediction about the number of absentee ballots his office will receive and the turnout rate in the election for Vernon County, Buehler said, "We'll easily get 650 absentee ballots and it might reach almost 700. And as to voter turnout, I think we'll see 50 percent, though I wish everyone would come out and vote."
As the election authority for Vernon County, Buehler commented on this being "maybe the worst election in American history." Naming others he thought worse, the county clerk briefly referenced 1968 but focused on the elections of 1800, 1824, 1828 and 1876.
"The year in which our country had the most turmoil in recent times was 1968," said Buehler.
That year began with the surprise attack in Vietnam known as the Tet offensive and later saw the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, along with protests against the war, and riots in major cities, including in Chicago, host of that year's Democratic convention.
The presidential election of 1800 resulted in an electoral college tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr which was resolved by the House of Representatives in a back room deal arranged by Alexander Hamilton who despised Burr. A few years later, in a duel, Burr killed Hamilton.
The 1824 election also had to go to the House for resolution. Candidates included Andrew Jackson, hero of the War of 1812; John Quincy Adams, secretary of state; and Henry Clay, speaker of the House of Representatives. Although Jackson won the popular vote and led the electoral vote, the election was decided by Clay getting his electoral delegates to vote for Adams. President Adams made Clay his secretary of state in what Jackson called a "corrupt bargain."
Said Buehler, "I think the sleaziest election this country had was four years later."
In 1828, one candidate was accused of murder, executing people under his command, disobedience of orders, being an adulterer by marrying before his fiancée's divorce was final and being the son of a prostitute whose father was a black man. The other candidate was accused of providing the Russian Czar with the sexual services of an American woman, installing a pool table in the White House, of gambling and paying off his high losses with government money, of being too pro-business by getting Congress to adopt protective tariffs and overall, of acting as if he was too high class to have anything to do with common people.
Andrew Jackson was the first while John Quincy Adams was the second. Jackson was the common man and war-hero from the Battle of New Orleans. In the end, Jackson easily won in 1828.
The unending accusations of adultery and bigamy took their toll on Jackson's wife, Rachel, who, shortly after her husband's election, became sick and then died mere days before they were to head to Washington to begin his presidency. Jackson was devastated.
John Quincy Adams found a second life after his presidency. Serving as a congressman from Massachusetts, he argued strongly against slavery and in 1841, defended 39 African captives in the famous Amistad case, which he won before a mostly pro-slavery Supreme Court.
"But I think the election which may have had the worst impact was in 1876," said Buehler.
Facing off were Democrat, Henry Tilden and Republican Rutherford B. Hayes. Tilden won the popular vote but was one electoral vote short of a majority, with 20 electoral votes yet to be tallied due to various controversies. The House of Representatives appointed a commission to award the remaining votes. The Republican majority awarded all 20 electoral votes to Hayes, giving him the election. Democrats threatened to contest the results but a behind-the-scenes agreement made Hayes president but gave Democrats what they most sought, the withdrawal of federal troops from the South. This essentially ended Reconstruction and allowed passage of so-called Jim Crow laws, which created not just segregation but a way of life between blacks and whites, which has repercussions in our day.
Said Buehler, "Folks say they're disgusted with this election but I tell them the real power lies in the ballot box."
That reminded the county clerk, once again, to make his pitch. "I really need volunteers to work the polls and for folks to come out and vote on Nov. 8."