Shell game redux
Most of you are too young to remember a swindle called the "shell game," unless maybe you've seen it in the movies.
The shell game worked like this.
A shady character would set a big cardboard box upside down on a busy city sidewalk and set out three walnut shells and a pea. Then, as a crowd gathered, the shell man would invite passersby to bet a dollar they could pick the shell that hid the pea after he had finished quickly shuffling the shells around. If the player picked the right shell, he doubled his money. But if he picked the wrong shell, he lost his dollar.
Guess who won most of the time?
The shell game is a pretty good description of the election process in Ellis County over the past several years.
Watch closely, ladies and gentlemen! How many polling places? Sixteen? Two? One? Four?
Everybody's a winner! Do you know where you go to vote? There. No, over here. No, no, no.
You're not paying attention. Now it's across town.
And if you find the right polling place, can you find the pea? Just use this easy voting machine. Nope, sorry, I can't help you. What's that? You want to see proof of how your vote was cast? Sorry, you just have to trust us. We don't keep any paper records. Just the computer.
Unfortunately, we have a lot more than a dollar at stake. Voting is the currency that keeps our system of government legitimate. It's the most precious privilege we have as citizens.
Our current county clerk has failed us. Her first duty is to make it easy to vote. She has done exactly the opposite. Intentionally or not, she has undermined the election process. People are embarrassed because they do not know where to vote and they don't know how to vote even if they find the right polling place. So, they stay home.
Please join me in voting for Dottie Staab for Ellis County clerk. Dottie understands that the ballot is sacred. She will return sanity to the voting process by re-establishing polling places that are plentiful, sensibly located and staffed by willing helpers.
As Ellis County clerk, Dottie Staab will restore confidence in the Ellis County election system.
Kent Steward
4402 Newton Circle
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