Spring Break
How a Republican voted in the Democratic Primary
By: William Mulgrew
Issue date: 5/18/07 Section: Ed-Op
Originally published: 5/18/07 at 3:57 AM EST
Last update: 5/18/07 at 4:19 AM EST
Originally published: 5/18/07 at 3:57 AM EST
Last update: 5/18/07 at 4:19 AM EST
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Over the last five years of political activism, I must have registered some 200 people to vote at the very least. I know the voter forms inside and out. Last year, several College Republicans and I were elected Committee persons, and they selected me to the position of Ward Leader.
(These are political offices in the Republican and Democratic parties that any Philadelphian voter can hold, and I recommend students contact their respective Party leaders and see if there are vacancies.)
It came as a huge surprise to me yesterday when I went to vote in the Primary Election and found myself listed as a Democrat.
I had no idea how this could have happened. I've been a registered Republican ever since I could vote, and even when I switched my registration to the City, I clearly checked the appropriate box. It had to have been a bureaucratic error at best.
I suppose I could have requested a provisional ballot, but I lacked the time and energy to fight it. Since the Republican Primary was uncontested, I simply voted in the Democratic one instead.
My choice for mayor was the easiest: Michael Nutter. He's the only Democrat with enough sense to know that high taxes, especially the Business Privilege Tax, are pushing jobs into the suburbs and the state of Delaware.
While I genuinely believe that the GOP has the ideas this city needs - cracking down on illegal gun sellers, investing in our port, school vouchers, and lower taxes - if a Democrat has to run this city I would gladly go nuts for Nutter.
Fortunately, all the Republican judges cross-filed in both parties (which is legal in Pennsylvania), so I knew who to vote for.
The ballot questions were pretty straightforward: we have enough of a quagmire here in Philly to worry about Iraq. No, we can't afford to shell out millions in more borrowing. A Youth Commission sounds nice on paper, but in practice it would probably only give a platform for privileged kids of incumbents. No, we have enough trouble getting rid of corrupt politicians, as it is to give them the privilege of holding one office while running for another. And the list goes on.
(These are political offices in the Republican and Democratic parties that any Philadelphian voter can hold, and I recommend students contact their respective Party leaders and see if there are vacancies.)
It came as a huge surprise to me yesterday when I went to vote in the Primary Election and found myself listed as a Democrat.
I had no idea how this could have happened. I've been a registered Republican ever since I could vote, and even when I switched my registration to the City, I clearly checked the appropriate box. It had to have been a bureaucratic error at best.
I suppose I could have requested a provisional ballot, but I lacked the time and energy to fight it. Since the Republican Primary was uncontested, I simply voted in the Democratic one instead.
My choice for mayor was the easiest: Michael Nutter. He's the only Democrat with enough sense to know that high taxes, especially the Business Privilege Tax, are pushing jobs into the suburbs and the state of Delaware.
While I genuinely believe that the GOP has the ideas this city needs - cracking down on illegal gun sellers, investing in our port, school vouchers, and lower taxes - if a Democrat has to run this city I would gladly go nuts for Nutter.
Fortunately, all the Republican judges cross-filed in both parties (which is legal in Pennsylvania), so I knew who to vote for.
The ballot questions were pretty straightforward: we have enough of a quagmire here in Philly to worry about Iraq. No, we can't afford to shell out millions in more borrowing. A Youth Commission sounds nice on paper, but in practice it would probably only give a platform for privileged kids of incumbents. No, we have enough trouble getting rid of corrupt politicians, as it is to give them the privilege of holding one office while running for another. And the list goes on.
