February 28
by Janine Stephenson
I still don’t understand how the election process works. Is that bad? I used to think that all you had to do was vote. But if you’re really paying attention, there’s a whole lot more going on. And it all seems very sneaky.
For example, there’s the matter of parties. Some of the people who visit our storefront or help us are from neighborhood clubs. The Glencove Democratic Club, or something like that, brings refreshments over every now and then when we have lots of college students around. A member dropped off a cake and said that the club is hoping that students remember how nice Democrats are when it come time to register and vote. I thought that was an odd thing to say, because it made it seem like no one here was already a Democrat.
Besides, no one is going to remember that a Democratic Club gave them cake. Becca says if it makes the club feel better, maybe they could make us some fudge as well.
Then there’s the matter of delegates. Mrs. Stoutmiller is working at becoming a delegate. I don’t know what that means, and I’m afraid to ask her because it seems like something important. I should know what a delegate is and what they do.
Becca thinks that delegates and conventions are like a miniature Congress. Delegates represent the people voting in the state. Then the delegates go off and have a big party where they fight and argue and eventually come up with a nominee.
I don’t know if that’s true or not. Becca isn’t sure either.
Some people think that The Senator could get all the votes in the world and somehow the Democrats would find a way to weasel it out from under him. How cynical. If that was truly the case, there would be no point in voting.
