Your vote for Frank can count when Straight Party Voting
By law, you are permitted to vote for Frank Dillman and Straight Party or Straight ticket while voting on November 8th.
- Upon receiving your ballot, first vote for Frank Dillman for District 4 Macon County Commissioner.
- And then .... mark your straight party box, if you choose.
- Your vote for me will count, because straight party voting fills in the unchecked positions of your choosen party. Inasmuch as the box before my name is filled in, your vote for Frank Dillman will count.
- Why 2022 Macon County Democrat Straight Ticket voting is nearly a wasted ballot.
- Watch a video spontaneously shot by Adam Broach of East Alabama News in 2016 about Straight Party Voting. Party leaders when in the majority like the concept, Republican in Democrate Pennsylvania, Democrat in Republican Alabama. The general public loses when over 60% of Alabama voters voted straight party in 2018 and don't know who they voted for.
- John Sophoclecus, Alabama Libertarian US Senatorial Candidate, one of over 60 Libertarian candidates on Nov. 8, 2022 ballots across Alabama, and columnist for the Alabama Gazette, wrote in Dec. 2018, on the subject of Straight Ticket Voting or Straight Party Voting. Mr. Sophocleus' entire column may be read from the "People's Paper" here.
- I’ve observed no one this past election cycle who has been a greater soldier in this regard than Frank Dillman. Frank is a Vietnam veteran who served us well and took his oath and duty seriously. In return, he expects his public servants to do their jobs well and not shirk their duty - Dillman has undoubtedly lived up to his side of the contract by any measure. As one of the non-duopoly candidates who suffered the scourge of straight-ticketers, I asked for his comments on the matter. “I did not lose to my recent opponent; I was sucker punched by Straight Party or Straight Ticket voting,” he said, “by those with the ability to color in one bubble and walk out of the polling center proudly wearing ‘I voted’ badge of honor and not know who or why you voted as you did.”
Elaborating on the ‘sucker punch’ description, candidate Dillman provided the following data to show his results exceeded most Statewide contested victors in the recent election in his county. Dillman earned 16% of Macon county participants’ Nov. 6th vote; Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) 14.95%, Chief Justice Tom Parker (R) 15.53%, Assoc. Justice Jay Mitchell (R) 15.85%, PSC Place 1 Jeremy Oden (R) 15.81%, PSC Place 2 Chip Beeker (R) 15.77%. The remaining Statewide victors were also close in exceeding Dillman’s 16%; Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth (R) 16.33%, 3rd Dist. Congress Mike Rogers (R) 17.14%, Sec. of State John Merrill (R) 16.32%, Auditor Jim Zeigler (R) 16.46%. Dillman summarized with, “Very probably, me being the first Libertarian candidate in Macon County history we did pretty darn good and the future is much brighter. This should give cause to my county’s ‘political fraternity’ that a good candidate at the right time would penetrate their control.”
I found Macon County’s 99.56% approval of unopposed candidates most revealing of the scourge of straight-ticketers non-duopoly candidates must overcome. 7,274 ballots cast was a better than expected turnout, but reported 89.46% Democrat straight-ticketers added to 10.50% Republican straight-ticketers conveyed more information on the preferred duopoly party than preferences on any individual candidate(s). Still most (about 60%) registered voters in the county decided not to participate in this rigged system; I see no efforts on Goat Hill to increase competition to get more of these voters to participate and communicate specific non-duopoly preferences. No wonder why potential candidates for local/lower races don’t even bother to run and give non-participating registered voters someone else to consider....
Before closing, I must include some of the best quotes from soldier candidate Dillman. “Ask those voters who they voted for Governor or local county commission and watch for their blank stare trying to remember a candidate’s name. Furthermore, ask them what was most impressive about the particular candidate and now watch their facial and body language! Partisan voting is chocking Macon County, state, and nation. Candidates refuse to attend forums for citizens to hear and ask questions but they are handsomely re-elected, the majority of the time with Straight Party Voting. Change never comes about with straight party voting, which is designed to favor the incumbent and is a disgrace to opponents who are honestly trying to toss out complacent career-minded public servants. The two major parties prefer SPV [Straight Party Voting] for their selfishness, tenure, power, and control. Reform is needed to ensure the best candidate is elected to office. I do not believe the best candidates are in office. Those among us who live the reality of taxation, zoning laws, governmental obstacles to establish small businesses, etc. are most often more qualified but are pushed aside because of ballot access laws and SPV.”
So if you want to continue being one of the many Republocrat straightticketers… at least take the additional seconds to mark each bubble to dilute votes of the dwindling thoughtful participant(s) who took the endeavour seriously enough to devote some time in finding the name of each candidate and learn a little about them. Consider it the price you must pay to protect your duopoly and keep destroying the meaning and Spirit of the ballot along with what it was designed to communicate. If it seems a high price, please remember all who died and sacrificed to make it happen - e.g. non-duopoly candidates like Mr. Dillman trying to bring some honest competition to this rigged system. This righteous man and the few courageous candidates like him in our State have earned your taking the effort to reject him specifically.
- I’ve observed no one this past election cycle who has been a greater soldier in this regard than Frank Dillman. Frank is a Vietnam veteran who served us well and took his oath and duty seriously. In return, he expects his public servants to do their jobs well and not shirk their duty - Dillman has undoubtedly lived up to his side of the contract by any measure. As one of the non-duopoly candidates who suffered the scourge of straight-ticketers, I asked for his comments on the matter. “I did not lose to my recent opponent; I was sucker punched by Straight Party or Straight Ticket voting,” he said, “by those with the ability to color in one bubble and walk out of the polling center proudly wearing ‘I voted’ badge of honor and not know who or why you voted as you did.”
- You can have your cake and ice cream or beer and pizza by voting for Frank Dillman and Straight Party, if you choose.
For folks interested in facts....
Straight party voting remains in only six states, Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Oklahoma, and South Carolina
Many states have abolished SPV, Georgia 1994, Illinois 1997, Iowa 2017, Missouri 2006, New Hampshire 2007, New Mexico 2001, North Carolina 2014, Rhode Island 2015, South Dakota 1996, Wisconsin 2011, West Virginia 2015, Pennsylvania 2019, and Texas and Utah 2020.