Can you count the letter b in:
Baltimore City’s messed up election process
The articles, “Errors leave voters worried,” 5-15-16 and “Dixon won’t challenge result of mayor’s race,” 5-12-16, should give voters cause for concern. As someone who has been involved in at least 5 election campaigns including the most recent April 26, 2016 primary, I have no doubt that the Baltimore City Board of Elections “screwed up.” Clearly this working group was not properly prepared to administer an open, honest election process. However, another problem exists which has been the recipient of very little if any commentary from the media or the public.
Not only do the citizens of Baltimore City, and for that matter, the entire state of Maryland have an obligation to vote, but they also have a responsibility to vote intelligently which means they have a requirement to be INFORMED. And that is not happening. How much space and air time do the media allot to truly inform the voters on the positions of ALL CANDIDATES on the issues that affect the people of Maryland? How accurate are the pollsters when they attempt to predict the voters’ choices? Do the pollsters even take the time to inform the voters about the positions of ALL candidates running for office? How much time do voters take to check out the qualifications of the politicians appearing on the ballot?
For your information, while the media emphasized Baltimore City had the largest voter turnout in years, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections, 59% of the voters in Baltimore City chose not to vote.
If one does some research on the questions I’m raising, one might just come to the conclusion that the media has been irresponsible in their coverage of ALL candidates running for office. And, sad to say, the same fault applies to voters. Here’s the proof. Look at the career politicians who finished #1 and #2 in the mayoral race. One was convicted on one count of misappropriation of gift cards. The other candidate, in my opinion violated campaign election laws. As a matter of fact I have filed a complaint with the state special prosecutor with regard to her behavior in the 2016 Democratic primary for mayor. (Knowing what I know about the current special prosecutor, in all likelihood no meaningful action will be taken with my complaint.)
All of this goes to show how unscrupulous the entire election process is in Baltimore City.
Ralph Jaffe
Political Science Teacher
Baltimore
user
In the text, there are twenty-five "b"s.
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