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The Seven Percent Nominee

Our Undemocratic Political Process

By Rich Stevenson ÓMarch 11, 2004
Interim Acting Male Co-Chair of the USAIVA and the Hamilton County OHIVA

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I was an election Judge on March 2, 2004, in the Ohio Primary Election. That means that I worked the polls in a particular precinct. I was right there behind the table to watch the inaction. Yes, I mean inaction. We had 45 people vote in a precinct with 333 registered voters. (13.5% voter turnout.) Like all of Hamilton County, over 80% of voters listed in the Poll Book were shown as “NON” for “non-affiliated.” Each voter signs the Poll Book to be able to vote.

OUTSIDERS: By the way, “Non-affiliated” is just a term the two-party monopoly uses to disguise the fact that over 80% of Hamilton County voters consider themselves to be populist nonpartisans. “Non-affiliated” is the word used to make populist nonpartisans feel like they don't belong, like they are outsiders. Funny, the outsiders are an 80% majority.

Wouldn't it be awful if only 7% of the people in America chose the Democratic nominee to run against George Bush in November 2004? What if two other primary candidates would actually have a much better chance to beat Bush in the fall? Projected from my point of view, that is exactly what happened based on the very small area of my expertise in the voting precinct where I worked.

Three of the 45 voters in the precinct I worked were “issues only” voters. They did not choose a Democratic or a Republican primary ballot. That left 42 voters who chose a party ballot; 21 chose a Democratic ballot and 21 chose a Republican ballot. Only five of the 42 were shown in the Poll Book as a “D” or an “R.” Thirty-seven (37) of the (42) voters who chose a party ballot were listed as “NON.” Yes, they were nearly all populist nonpartisans. Whoops, I mean “NON.” Most of the 37 made up their mind on which party primary ballot to choose on the spot. The 37 had no actual party preference. 37 of 42, 88%!

Now, the truth of the percentages; 45/333 is equal to 13.5%; 42/333 is equal to 12.6%; 21/333 is 6.3%. If we are generous, 7% of the registered voters in the precinct where I worked, cast a Democratic ballot. Kerry won Ohio with about 50% of the Democratic vote, so projected back to the precinct vote that I know most about, Kerry received votes from less than 3.5% of the registered voters in the precinct where I worked. If Kerry had gotten the entire Democratic vote in the precinct where I worked he would have votes from only 6.3% of the registered voters in the precinct. If that percentage for Democratic votes from all registered voters held in every state and all over Ohio, which I believe would be the case, the title of this article would be true. The nation selected a Democratic candidate, who was very nearly “THE SEVEN PERCENT NOMINEE.”

With ABB “anybody but bush” fervor at a high pitch all over the nation, a lack-luster Washington DC insider was chosen to oppose the ultimate Washington DC insider, George Bush. If given the chance, the other 93% of the possible voters in this country would probably have chosen someone new, outside of the corrupted bipartisan political inner circle. Closed primaries exclude the populist "93%" of registered voters from voting in precincts in every state with closed Bipartisan Primary Elections. Totally undemocratic.

With those two “equally corrupt” nominees on the ballot for President, I predict a closer election than in the year 2000. We need some real choices to get more people to actually come out to vote. The two candidates we have are the media sponsored nominees of the special interests. Will they be the only choices on our ballots? If so, many voters will stay at home!

I invite everyone to work the polls for a few years for an in-depth civics lesson. The truth about our politics is hidden there. Spend an entire day at the polls for a complete political education.

By the way, there are 100 million possible voters in our country who are so disgusted with politics that they do not bother to register to vote. If we count those non-voters as possible voters, we have a 3% Democratic Nominee. Most of our 70,000,000 young people, 18 to 35, do not bother to register to vote or to vote.

Overall voter turnout in Hamilton County was 28%. Voters who selected a Democratic ballot were 11.4% of all the registered voters in Hamilton County. Kerry got an overall 58% of those votes, so he won the primary with 6.6% of Hamilton County registered voters. Would it feel good to live in the greatest democratic republic in the world? Voter turnout in a viable democratic republic is way over 50% in every election. Our people know they have no choices not controlled by the Ds and the Rs closed primary election system. Next chance you get, vote for a populist nonpartisan you helped to put on the ballot. Left to Ds and Rs there will never be General Election candidates on your ballot other than their own career incumbent establishment candidates.

Good candidates from one of the bipartisan parties, like Howard Dean, supported by independents and young people, who might solve our persistent problems, are sabotaged by the bipartisan parties and the media, and not allowed to win. Orders are handed down to eliminate them. The “Howard scream” is shown without showing the screaming crowd egging Dean on to his “erratic behavior.” Then one candidate, Kerry, is shown to beat Bush by “57% to 42% if the election were held today” over and over again without giving the same numbers for the other nearly equal Democratic Primary leaders. The media were told to “get rid of this Dean guy.” Whoops, just conjecture folks! Edwards? He was just too progressive for the Ds to support under DLC control. “Sounds like that darn Roosevelt fellow.”

What if the numbers in the precinct I worked are the same in every precinct all over our country? I have discussed voter numbers with people in every state. Go to any precinct in America and the numbers are shockingly similar.

The Seven Percent Nominee! The number is about the same in both parties, in every state. Parties give their “nominee” a lot more cash than other primary election losers. Always enough to win! Remember the John McCain loss in 2000?

Nonpartisan Independent voters will elect the next President. Remember the 37 of 42, the 88% actual populist nonpartisan voters in the one precinct I know best. When the voter turnout increases in November, voters will still be up to 88% populist nonpartisan voters everywhere. We should elect a populist nonpartisan President to serve our populist nonpartisan majority. We have the votes it seems to me. Why not elect Ralph Nader? We could do so easily.

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