And as a small addendum to the previous post, it’s the end of August, and I have no idea who is running for office in my area and what they are about. I’m a registered Democrat and since I’m OCD, I check if I’m still registered once a week. But there are no flyers, no canvassers, no yard signage, nothing. Maybe it’s too early. Let’s hope there is still time to do something to educate voters.
7 responses to “P.S. to Cohen”
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Illinois State Board of Elections
You can find if you’re registered to vote and when the elections are.Illinois Democratic Primary Results
Who Represents Me – Ballotpedia
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Of course, I can find out. But the point is that I want to see them try to win the darn election. Fight for voters. Try to persuade. I’m right here, eager to be persuaded. Nobody has shown up just yet.
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Campaigns don’t usually rev up until after labor day. Believe it or not, other people get tired of hearing about politics. Freaks!
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Totally. 🙂
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The Illinois primary elections were held way back in March, so you probably won’t hear much election hoopla until closer to Illinois’ general election in November.
Arizona’s primary election is next Tuesday, and for the past several weeks I’ve received multiple daily robocalls and literally dozens of mailers touting various Republican candidates.
Assuming that Illinois’ political parties are about the same as those here, you should expect to get a lot of attention from the Democrats in in the weeks leading up to November 6th.
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I hope so. I’m finally eligible to vote and I want to be part of things.
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Clarissa, the type of direct candidate-to-voter contact you long for is mostly history. The way it was before the Internet, and even more so, before the dominance of television. Really, HISTORY! Before your time as an American citizen! Candidates really did try to meet the voters, mostly by making speeches to audiences large and small. And they reached the voters by mail, with envelopes stuffed, addressed and stamped by legions of volunteers. Like I say, history.
Now, candidates SAY they want volunteers, but what they really want is MONEY. The new way of electioneering is sending emails begging for support. Waves of emails every day, day after day. They beg For support, meaning money. Candidates have little use for volunteers these days. they don’t need many workers because the campaigns are mostly automated, via computers and telecommunication. Constant email begging, ads on Facebook, and most of all television commercials! It’s expensive, especially the television. A few workers are needed, but paid workers are preferred over volunteers. You will get some contact by mail, but not envelopes stuffed by volunteers. That is so old-fashioned. What you will get, mostly in the final weeks, is printed fliers, prepared, presorted, and bulk-mailed to save on postage. The Flyers are prepared by commercial print houses using computerized mail lists. No volunteers, but printing and mailing does cost money.
That’s modern candidate-voter contact. Internet, television, junk mail. The candidate with the most money wins. Many candidates for the very lowest and most local offices still claim to spend all their time knocking on doors To meet voters. Some candidates actually do so. But it’s a slow and inefficient way to campaign. When is the average voter actually at home? And if The voter is home, is he or she inclined to open the door to a stranger?
All the candidates have websites, Clarissa. If you go to the website and give them your email address, you will be contacted for sure. Early and often.LikeLike
A conservative literary critic and college professor
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