By Andrew Macdonald
The other day I had a talk about politics with a reader who brought up a few election sayings his dad, an early Preston Manning Reform Party supporter, used to say.
One such saying, ‘Vote early, vote often’, has long been in use in rural Nova Scotia. I am familiar with this saying, which also went like this: ‘Vote early, vote often, vote Liberal’.
Another saying for election time, goes like this: ‘If it moves, give it welfare; if it does not move, pave it’. Perhaps this saying could best describe the John Buchanan government, which between 1978 and 1990 paved more Nova Scotia roads than any government before or since.
What is the origin of ‘Vote early, vote often’?
Well, Wikipedia reports the phrase had its origins in the United States in the mid-19th century, and had an early appearance in Britain when a newspaper reprinted correspondence from an American solicitor.
“The phrase, however, did not find widespread use until the early 1900s when it was used in relation to the activities of organized crime figures in Chicago.”
Vote early
“This portion of the phrase suggests a person should arrive to vote early in the day. Most democratic electoral processes involve polling booths that are open for a mandated period of time. Voting early would suggest a particular enthusiasm for voting not necessarily shared by other electors”, notes Wikipedia.
Many politicos on Friday said the NS general election will be called this weekend with the vote for August 17th, 2021.
“At the time the phrase was coined, this portion of the phrase is generally accepted to be a reference to voting early on polling day or early in the electoral process and not a reference to the formal process of early voting (which at the time of the phrase’s coining did not exist). Before the introduction of the secret ballot in the latter half of the 19th century, open voting was the prevalent voting process.
“Under this system, returning officers frequently tallied votes as they were cast. Typically, it was neither illegal nor frowned on to report these results while the vote was in progress, and in any event, few returning officers had either the ability or the inclination to suppress such reports.
“In such an environment, a candidate could provide a significant disincentive to vote against him by recording a seemingly insurmountable lead as early in the poll as possible, since at least some supporters of his opponents would presumably have not wanted to attract the ire of a powerful politician in support of a lost cause,” adds Wikipedia.
“During, and even after, the Nazi seizure of power in Germany, secret voting was technically possible, however, the Nazis subverted the process by packing the polling stations prior to opening with their own fanatical supporters.
“At the time, it was not illegal in Germany for a voter to decline their right to use the voting booths provided, so the Nazis would intimidate non-Nazi electorate by voting openly while expressing contempt for secret voting. This, combined with other techniques, was first practiced on a limited basis in the partly-free election of March 1933 and then on a universal basis in all of the sham elections and referenda the Nazis held thereafter.
“The tactics proved effective in dissuading most ordinary Germans from opposing Adolf Hitler’s regime via the electoral process. Following World War II, as part of the denazification process, the reformed government in West Germany quickly passed laws making it illegal for an elector to vote openly without using a voting booth. In East Germany, the elections for the Volkskammer had ballots with only one name, and these were deposited in public view; the possibility existed to cross out the name, but no privacy was afforded and serious consequences could result.
“Even today, it is often believed that early reports of the success of one party will motivate more of their supporters to come out or dissuade their opponents, although they could also convince less motivated supporters of a leading candidate that their votes are not required. In any event, to prevent just such an occurrence (whether real or perceived) most liberal democracies enforce restrictions while the polls are still open not only on the reporting of results but also on exit polls and other data that might be construed as an indication of an ongoing election’s eventual result.”
Vote often
“The ‘vote often’ portion of this phrase is the more controversial clause of this quote. While the phrase could be interpreted to mean that a citizen should vote in every election he or she is eligible to so as to show a truly noble interest in one’s civic duty, it appears that the phrase originally was meant to encourage citizens to vote as many times as they could even in the same election,” explains Wikipedia.
“While this practice was once legal in certain countries under certain limited circumstances (for example, some British voters were formerly allowed to vote both in their own geographical constituency and a special university constituency), it is now strictly prohibited in all liberal democracies.
“Most modern democratic electoral processes are operated on a one person, one vote basis. As such, voting often (on one day) would suggest that the person is illegally voting as more than one person – a person with multiple voter registrations. The extra registrations might be for deceased persons, persons are known to have left the jurisdiction, fictional entities, and/or persons known to abstain from voting themselves.
“As such, the phrase suggests the person in question is involved in ballot stuffing or some other form of electoral fraud involving an individual casting multiple votes.
“Combined with the first part of the phrase, to vote early (either through the original meaning of early in the morning or through the formal process of early voting) gives the fraudulent voter the ability to cast multiple votes in a short period of time (if casting multiple in early votes) and/or time to travel to (an) another precinct (s) in order to cast (a) ballot(s) elsewhere with only a minimal risk of getting caught.”
History
Historian James Morgan, in a 1926 publication, identified American politiican John Van Buren as the originator of the phrase, an identification supported by Laurence Urdang and Janet Braunstein.
Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations notes its usage in 1858, by William Porcher Miles, and in his book ‘Capone‘, author John Kobler attributes the phrase to the gangster Al Capone”.
And, there you have the origin of ‘Vote Early, Vote Often’.
