A primary dilemma

She was the last person to vote and she requested a Republican primary ballot. Almost all of the other voters in the precinct cast Democratic ballots. It was 6:55 p.m.

At 7:20 p.m., she was still voting and there was only one contested race on the GOP ballot. So, one of the election judges asked, “Are you finished yet, dear?”

“NO!” she replied. “And I have my rights!” she snapped. The election judges did not address her again. Five minutes later she finished voting and dropped her punch card and its cover into the ballot box.

When the votes were counted, it was obvious to me who she was. There was one Republican ballot that had names – properly written, with corresponding boxes that were xed – all over the punch card holder for many of the contests on the Democratic side.

She had obviously wanted to vote in the one contest in the Republican primary while also selecting the Democrats of her choice. But it was not possible to do that in Illinois. So, none of her Democratic choices were counted.