Election Day and the Right to Vote-

Recalling memorable election contests over the years

California is all in on mail-in ballots in 2020. Photo: Steve Newvine

The election of 2020 is bringing back memories of voting from many years past I remember 1976 and voting in my first presidential election. Incumbent Gerald Ford, who finished the remainder of the second Richard Nixon term, was pitted against challenger Jimmy Carter.

We all know how that ended. But for me, the lasting memory was casting my first vote for President.

Steve Ford, the son of former President Gerald Ford, shared his reflections of growing up in the President’s family during a speech in Fresno back in 2018. Photo: Newvine Personal Collection

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting President Ford's son Steve at an event in the Central Valley. As the keynote speaker, he shared with the audience his excitement of that campaign.

He told the audience that at one point in the late summer, Carter led in polling by over thirty-percent over Ford. But as the campaign closed in on Election Day, the race was essentially tied.

Steve Ford, son of the late former President Gerald Ford, told a Fresno audience in 2018 that the 1976 race tightened considerably in the closing weeks of the campaign. Photo: Newvine Personal Collection

I enjoyed Steve Ford as he talked politics as well as what life was like in the Ford family. At a meet-and-greet event prior to the speech, I shared with him my enthusiasm for finally being able to vote for President more than forty years ago.

A few years later, I participated in the election of 1980 when President Jimmy Carter faced off against Ronald Reagan.

I voted again, but this time it was through an absentee ballot as I was transitioning from one job to another, moving about eleven-hundred miles to a new opportunity.

I am very proud that I voted in every single presidential contest since becoming eligible, as well as every election in-between.

I believe it is an important duty of being a citizen in the US.

It is a privilege, but it is also an obligation that people should treat more seriously.

Two of the three voters in our household, my mother-in-law and my wife, show their ballots minutes before the envelopes were taken to the Merced County Board of Elections. Photo: Newvine Personal Collection

A few years ago, I wrote a column here on MercedCountyEvents.com about low voter turnout.

At the time, there was a lot of comment about the so-called “99-percenters”, individuals representing the overwhelming majority of the population but perceived by some at that time as not sharing fully in the wealth of the nation

I argued that we should be less focused on the 99-percent and more concerned about the low voter turnout we had recently experienced. The real power of the people comes through active engagement in the process.

And that should mean every eligible voter casting a ballot. Now we come to 2020, where it seems every television commercial break has advertisements for local candidates or ballot propositions, the mailbox is full of flyers and brochures from various candidates, and social media has exploded with opinions designed to energize each party’s base.

In the state and federal races, there is considerable negative messaging among the advertisements we are seeing this election season.

Now more than ever, we need to seek out information about the candidates and the issues, and then take that next step.

I remember what it was like growing up in a small town in upstate New York where Election Day turnout might have been three hundred people.

I remember going with my mother and father to the polls.

While I don't recall being taken behind the curtain of the voting machine, I do recall standing in line, feeling curious about all these people waiting, and looking forward to the day when I would be able to cast my ballot.

Voting remains a privilege that I hope will never be taken for granted.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

His current book Course Corrections, is now available in a special hard-cover edition at Lulu.com. In December, he will publish a new book about special Californians and their achievements.