Vote early and vote often

Vote early and vote often is a generally tongue-in-cheek phrase used in relation to elections and the voting process. Though rarely considered a serious suggestion, the phrase theoretically encourages corrupt electoral activity, but is used mostly to suggest the occurrence of such corruption.[1]

The phrase had its origins in the United States in the mid-19th century, and had an early appearance in Britain when a newspaper re-printed 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.

Meaning

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, which are open for a mandated period of time. Voting early would suggest a particular enthusiasm for voting not necessarily shared by other electors.

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). 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, and in many countries such as the United Kingdom, there are restrictions on news reporting while the polls are still open to prevent just such an occurrence.

Vote often

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 voting as more than one person – a person with multiple voter registrations.

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 time to travel to another precinct and cast a ballot elsewhere, reducing the risk of getting caught.

History

Historian James Morgan, in a 1926 publication, identified 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.[2]

The British newspaper The Times of 27 August 1859 printed a letter about the use of the ballot for voting in the United States, written by Richard Henry Dana, Jr. to his friend Lord Radstock. In the letter, Dana reports:[3]

Our experience has shown us that in the excitement of great popular elections, deciding the policy of the country, and its vast patronage, frauds will be committed, if a chance is given for them. If these frauds are allowed, the result is not only that the popular will may be defeated, and the result falsified, but that the worst side will prevail. The side which has the greater number of dishonest men will poll the most votes. The war cry, "Vote early and vote often!" and the familiar problem, "how to cast the greatest number of votes with the smallest number of voters", indicate the direction in which the dangers lie.

The phrase is also noted as the "much vaunted maxim" of the Tammany Hall political machine of the 1860s: they used "repeaters", who were given five dollars and free liquor to go and vote for recently deceased voters.[4] This process was depicted in the Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York (2002), where drunkards are forcibly shaved (to alter their appearance) and turned back toward polling stations to vote again.

In 1933 in Dáil Éireann (the Irish lower house), Thomas Kelly of Fianna Fáil said, "If a poor man is sick in hospital and not able to get out, surely it is a good turn to see that his vote is registered. If he has gone away and his neighbours know his opinions, I do not see any harm in personation. [...] vote early and often".[5]

In his book Capone, John Kobler attributes the phrase to the gangster Al Capone.[6] In the United States, Republicans accused their opponents of inviting such corruption with their support of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, the "Motor Voter Law".[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Keyssar, Alexander (2001). The right to vote: the contested history of democracy in the United States. Basic Books. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-465-02969-3.
  2. 1 2 Safire, William (2008). Safire's political dictionary. Oxford UP. p. 782. ISBN 978-0-19-534334-2.
  3. ↑ "The Ballot In The United States" (letter), The Times, 27 August 1859, p. 9.
  4. ↑ Gumbel, Andrew (2005). Steal this vote: dirty elections and the rotten history of democracy in America. Nation Books. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-56025-676-2.
  5. ↑ "Local Government (Dublin) Bill, 1933—Second Stage". Dáil Éireann Debates. 17 May 1933. pp. Vol.47 No.10 p.23 cc.1071–72. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Kobler, John. Capone: The Life and World of Al Capone. Da Capo. p. 199. ISBN 0-306-81285-1. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
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