A Close Encounter with the Election Ghost

It was the night of October 31st 2020. With elections in two days I had to get moving to get my ballot ready. I was anxious about elections and their consequences. As the election day approached my anxiety levels kept going higher. I heard in the news today that the polls are saying Biden is up by 12 points that just made me even more anxious. After 2016 it's hard to trust polls. I sealed my ballot, signed it and went to bed early. 

Suddenly I woke up in the middle of the night and then I saw a someone with a flashlight approach my bed. That was a shock did someone break into my home ? But my dog sleeps right there and is fast asleep. 

He came closer to my bed and was carrying one of those camping flashlights in his hand. This stranger had a bland looking face, very serious and was dressed in all black which was creepy. 

" Who are you ? " : I asked. 

He sighed and said : " I am the ghost of the elections past and I have come here to answer your questions "

" Did I make a mistake in my ballot am in trouble ? "

" No you are not in trouble and your ballot looks fine. Your anxiety levels are through the roof, hence I am here "

" So I can ask you anything about the elections ? "

" Yes anything about past elections within reason. But make it quick I have many more people to visit "

" Why do we have an electoral college ? "

" Your founding fathers debated for months on a hard problem to resolve : how to elect the president ? Some argued that congress should pick the president and others are insistent on a democratic popular vote. Their compromise is known as the electoral college. There is an aspect of racism where slaves counted as 3/5 of a person but that's a story for a different day "

" Senate is not democratic as small states get the same number of senators as large ones ? "

" The design of the Senate is undemocratic and it's baked into constitution. The smaller states staged a walkout unless they got equal representation as big states. Madison and the big states compromised to pass the constitution. The only way to fix the senate would be by trashing the constitution and starting fresh. "

" Come on that's not fair "

" Yup that's by design a system created with many compromises. I am heading out the next ghost will be from future .... " 

....

" I am the ghost from future of elections. Do you have any questions for me ? "

" Wait you are the same ghost from elections past ? "

" That's right, we have staffing issues. We are not getting enough qualified candidates to take up the jobs. Who wants to work all night with no benefits, wages have been the same for eons and these uniforms are so dated. Working in dark all the time can drive anyone crazy. "

" How can we make our elections fair and represent the will of the people ?"

" Rank Choice Voting is a good method to get better representation when compared to the current system. It's especially useful in crowded elections where margins of victory are small. The winner of these elections has to get more than 50 % of votes cast. It ensures that the candidate with broadest appeal wins. Dude I have many more people to disturb, this is your last question "

" Who is going to win the election tomorrow ? "

" aha a I knew you would ask this one. Telling you answer to that is above my pay grade. Here is my piece of advice to you before you head out to the polls - wear a mask !!! "

I woke up with a start, it is early morning and I need to head out to the polls. That was a crazy dream.

35% of Americans think there will be a civil war with this election. Let's not have a civil war with Trumpers we are no good at war and they are no good at being civil.