Notes From Jon

I wish I’d had my camera.  And even if I had, it was pouring down rain, so it wouldn’t have been a good picture anyway.  But I had two urges as I drove up and saw our polling place in Kenbridge this morning

First, I felt pride.  As I drove up, I saw a line of at least 20 people outside the Kenbridge Emergency Squad, waiting their turn to vote.  It’s the most people I’ve ever seen at the polling place here, and I’m proud because so many people obviously care enough about his election that they are willing to stand out in the rain in order to vote.

Second, I had to laugh.  Most of your polling places probably looked similar to ours on the outside.  The ground looked normal enough, close to the doors where people waited to enter the building.  But about 40 feet out, you could almost see a defiined perimeter – an army of red and blue campaign signs, laying seige on the polls.  By state law, you can’t even wear a t-shirt, hat, or sticker for the candidate of your choice within 40 feet of the building entrance.  So of course, at 41 feet there are tents with people waving signs, handing out literature, and “encouraging” you to vote for their candidate.

I laughed because today, in the age of information, what use are campaign signs?  They seem like a waste of money.  They say nothing about the candidate – unless you count some of those signs attacking the opponent, which actually says more about the person attacking than the one being attacked.

I suppose, however, that undecided voters might just pull up to the polling site and begin counting the signs.  Whoever has more signs up here obviously deserves to be president.  Or if you’re undecided and you’re a gambler, maybe the “eeny-meeny-miney-moe” technique would work for you.

What do you think?  Is there a place for yard signs in future elections?