Bullet Balloting: Shooting Your Vote in the Foot

This primary election season, many high profile offices have more candidates than slots available. Some of the candidates and their supporters have advocated the take-no-prisoners strategy known as "Bullet Balloting". This misguided philosophy encourages voters to vote for only one candidate even though they are permitted to select two or more.

For Example: You have a SIX-way race with Fred, Barney, Wilma, Betty, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm but only the top THREE vote getters go on beyond the primary. The false reasoning goes like this: If you like both Fred and Barney, but really want Fred to win, then you should NOT vote for Barney because that's like a vote against Fred.

This argument is not only wrong, but it hurts your party whether you are a Democrat or a Republican. By under-voting and not picking Barney, you are NOT really helping Fred or your party. Instead you are risking weak and unqualified candidates (Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm) taking Barney's slot when you could have had both Fred and Barney and a stronger ticket.

When you go to the polls on Tuesday, May 15th, consider whether a candidate (or his representative) is asking you to vote for "him and next best others" or for "just him". The selfish candidate that asks you to give up your rights by under-voting is not worthy of your vote. This kind of candidate will not work to support your party and whoever else wins in the primary, but rather will run a me-only campaign come November as well once the going gets tough.

For this election there are three (3) Delaware County Council seats, two (2) PA Supreme Court slots, two (2) PA Superior Court slots and two (2) seats for the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas. Voters that don't make an effort to pick their favorite nine (9) candidates to fill these positions are are shooting their party, their vote, and their Democracy in the foot.


P.S. Feel free to make copies of this blog for your polling place or to send to your friends that vote.