Occupy the Polls

Roundabout Exit 151, many people have been preoccupied with storm cleanup. Ten days after the freak October 29 snowstorm, some roads are still impassable to cars, although open to pedestrians and bicycles. This is what the road to (or in this case, from) the supermarket looks like.



However that may be, today is General Election Day in New Jersey and there are local and state offices and a public question on sports betting to be decided. Usually the closely contested races are downstate, but redistricting may yield some surprises closer to casa Jersey Knitter this time. Polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Sad to relate, off-off year elections in the Garden State frequently are decided by as little as 5% of the eligible population, making them vulnerable to manipulation by extreme special interests. The rationale often given for having off-off year elections is to make them less partisan, but the actual result is they become more partisan and less participatory, and cost more to boot. It's high time for an informed citizenry to do something both basic and, these days, radical – to occupy the polls and exercise the right to vote!