As I read the newspaper articles, letters to the editor and
election materials, I am reminded of the title of a play written by
William Shakespeare called
”
The Comedy of Errors.
”
As I read the newspaper articles, letters to the editor and election materials, I am reminded of the title of a play written by William Shakespeare called “The Comedy of Errors.”
It seems to have started with the “hanging chads!” As the nation watched, and indeed, the world watched the outcome, we heard, “Only in America!” (The errors!)
The recall of Gray Davis brought the next most talked about election with 138 candidates running for California governor. The candidates ranged from porn star to porn magazine publisher and actors. The voter information guide included statements from candidates, including “I breathe” and “What’s it all about?” As the nation watched and the rest of the world looked on, we heard, “Only in California.” (The comedy!)
The Secretary of State’s message to voters in the official voter information guide includes these words, “The world is watching how we face the challenge of this election.” YES, the world and the nation are still watching us.
Now we have the March 2 primary election.
Among the many newspaper articles, I have found more problems to add to “The Comedy of Errors.” Such headlines as “Citizens sue over e-voting wanting more safeguards,” “Absentee ballots tip postage scales – one stamp may not be enough” (in Santa Clara County) and “County election practices eyed ” (regarding non-citizens registering to vote, which has been a problem recently in neighboring counties also.) More errors.
The most recent error has come from the Secretary of State. Kevin Shelley’s official voter information guide states: “In an effort to reduce election costs, the State Legislature has authorized the state and counties to mail only one guide to addresses where more than one voter with the same surname resides. You may obtain additional copies by writing to your county elections official or by calling 1-800-345-VOTE.”
We received three copies for the three voters in our household! The other error was that the publication only explained two propositions. We called the toll free number to find out that not only had their glitch cost a great deal of extra copies being sent, but that their second error was that they had to spend even more money printing and mailing a supplemental guide to include the second two propositions accidentally left off the original guide!
Yes, Mr. Secretary of State, the world looks on with the rest of the U.S. and says, “Only in California!”
“The Comedy of Errors” continues! Hopefully the seriousness of elections will be corrected so that we will be seen in a better light in the future.
Ruth Erickson,
Hollister
