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Writer's pictureTrish Gelbaugh

The Need to Be "Right"


For the past several years, I have worked as a Precinct Chairperson for most of the elections. It's not a job I would have sought; while I feel very grateful to live in the United States and to have the privileges and the freedoms that we are privvy to here, I don't particularly like politics in general, and, in particular, I'm not at all fond of the two-party system that has evolved over the past 2 centuries. I was relieved to learn that George Washington, the only U.S. President to have unanimous support, felt the same way. In spite of his warnings, it didn't take long for human nature to kick in and our country was soon polarized into two distinctly different, and opposing, groups ... and that's when the "group mentality" kicks in. Given my convictions, I have wondered, at times, why God would have me working as a Precinct Chair, but He has revealed many things to me over the years, especially regarding political strongholds that people subscribe to.

I typically work in precincts with very low voter turn-out, so the day is usually quite uneventful. But during this past Tuesday's election, all of those bizarre situations that you spend hours training for which never really happen, happened. It was a 15-hour day of one exception after another.

It was early in the day when a gentleman came in to vote and wanted to use a passport as photo ID instead of a driver's license. Obviously, the issue of providing ID has been hotly debated over the years, and some people feel strongly one way or the other. My job on election day is not to have an opinion either way; I don't make the laws, it's just my job to see that they are carried out during the 15 hours that I am responsible for what goes on in the precinct.

Without checking the guidelines, I was pretty sure that a passport was acceptable ID, but it does not give a current address. I also know a current address is not required to vote, but it is something we are required to check and, at times, document if we are unable to verify it, so I wanted to double check the requirements just to be sure. (If you knew the number of situations we are trained to handle, and saw the paperwork required by law to accompany each of those situations, you would understand my need to be thorough!)

I very politely, and with a smile, assured the man that I didn't think it was any problem, but, while he was voting, I just wanted to double check the manual to ensure that he didn't need to sign or complete anything else. It took a minute or two while he was voting for me to check the manual and confirm that he was all set.

This required no additional time on his part, and I was very polite, kind, and non-confrontational about it. He put his ballot into the tabulator without any fanfare and quietly left the precinct.

About 20 - 30 minutes later, he proudly walked back in with something in his hand. Apparently, he had gone home, printed a page off of the internet listing the guidelines, and circled and highlighted the parts he thought proved he was "right" ... and made a special trip back to the precinct to make sure he made his point. I have to say, it was pretty bizarre; all 4 of us who were working that day were a bit dumbfounded by it. As I said, I never in any way came across as if I was opposing him ... I was just double checking to see if there was any additional documentation required on my part (which, in many circumstances, there is). For this man, this clearly was about much more than voting that day or even about his ID; he held tightly to a political stronghold, and he was intent on making a point of it, even when no one else was challenging him on it.

When it comes to politics, does your desire to be "right" supercede your desire to be human ... to be understanding, to be open-minded, to be compassionate? And, if you are a disciple of Jesus, do you allow your desire to be politically "right" to supercede your calling to be Christ-like? ... Jesus was pretty clear that He came to provide spiritual redemption, not political solutions. Would your words and behavior as one of His disciples reflect that, or is your focus and attention frequently on the "things of this world"?



© I Lift My Voice, 2015.

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