Letter to the Editor: My Vote Counts, But How?

Election Day, the day to stand up and have your vote counted for the party and candidate of your choice, or at least that’s what most believe.

I arrived as usual to my assigned polling place, to find everything status quo. Upon verifying who I was, where I lived, confirming with my signature, I was handed a paper ballot to fill out and cast my vote. Upon review I couldn’t help but notice that under the listed candidates for Supreme Court, several were listed under multiple parties. I thought to myself, how can you have multiple candidates listed under Democratic, Republican and Independent parties? I pointed this out to the volunteers working the polling station, and they too wondered how this could happen. 

Upon returning home, I called the Nassau County Board of Elections. The person answering the phone would not give her name. I posed the same question to her, and was told that the Board of Elections does not get “involved” in politics and that the meaning, at least to her, was that the candidates received “backing” or support from multiple parties. She went on to tell me that perhaps the candidates were so good, they received this backing. Well, I guess that’s one way to look at it. Another way would be that the candidates would do anything anyone told them to for a price. After all, isn’t that a conflict of interest?

Another observation would be just “how” is my vote counted under these circumstances? Am I voting for a Republican, Democrat, Independent or what? And just how is this all tabulated?

So I put it to you, the reader. Does our vote really count, or are we just going through the motions to help us all feel better or to keep us quiet while the powers that be do exactly what they want?