Allegany County votes the normal 75% Republican
Poll reveals almost 20% “leverpullers”
By Andrew Harris
Our poll taken during election week didn’t reveal any big surprises. Our readers are sick of the implications of ‘bail reform,’ and sick of rising costs.
In a county which over 75% of votes went to Republican candidate Lee Zeldin for NY Governor, the results were fairly predictable. Pocketbook issues like the cost of running a household and kitchen table issues like bail reform motivated well over 60% of our little electorate.
The “red wave” never happened, but neither did the “blue wave” that was also predicted. In this poll, only 16% voted based on reproductive issues brought to the forefront with the recent US Supreme Court decision to strike down Roe v. Wade.
That result could have been somewhat skewed by the web-troll-poll snatchers who admittedly hijacked the poll to show massive pro-choice support. As a result we had to reboot the poll after a day of voting. A good reminder that our weekly poll is not supposed to be statistical science or definitive or without flaws. The goal is to “test the wind” on a subject and give each other an idea how the majority, and minority feel.
One interesting glimpse of how our readers voted in the last election was the first option: “I voted based on political party.” This response indicates that 18.8% of poll respondants are admitted “leverpullers!” Those that vote solely based on political party were quite common in the past, due to the nature of voting machines. Unlike our current ballots which require each vote to be clearly marked with a permanent marker, the old voting machine allowed for blanket voting by party line on the ballot. Voters flipped one switch to vote the entire party line, pulled the big lever, and waltzed out.
That reality resulted in many inferior candidates getting elected and frustrated voters grumbling about the “leverpullers.”
On a positive note, less than three percent logged a “I didn’t bother to vote” response. Hopefully that tally is simply representative of the many readers we have who are not of voting age, yet.
Stay tuned for a fresh poll on Monday, feel free to send in a suggestion anytime!! WellsvilleSun@yahoo.com
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