Letter: Early voting good for workers

Friday, Aug. 23, 2002 | 9:10 a.m.

Regarding Jon Ralston's Aug. 18 column, "Election officials foster apathy": I am neither a fool nor a sloth; nor are the hundreds of my union brothers and sisters who chose to vote early this past weekend.

Despite Mr. Ralston's low opinion of working people, my fellow union members and I spent countless hours screening, interviewing and researching the candidates running for the offices that impact our membership. Based upon the candidates' views, voting records and positions on issues important to working people, we made recommendations to our membership. We're confident that we have all the information we need to make informed decisions. This year none of my brothers and sisters who go to the polls early will be doing so out of laziness or ignorance.

Mr. Ralston, you should know more than anyone that the only information the public receives in the last two weeks of any political campaign is poll-driven, trite campaign slogans, developed by high-priced consultants (your peers, Mr. Ralston), whose goal is anything but to present voters with facts.

Early voting is good for working people, who have the benefit of belonging to a labor union, but bad for political consultants and pundits, who rely on an ignorant electorate to make their fortunes. Through early voting, we're taking the power back from these hacks. And now that we've already voted, we don't need to read their columns or their overwritten and disingenuous campaign literature.

CHRISTOPHER SALM Editor's note: The writer is a member of the Committee on Political Education for the Service Employees International Union, Local 1107.