Election Days: Do you know your history?

What do the elections of 2020 have in common with 1928?

This is a photo I took of the courthouse in 2014. It looks much the same, except that tonight it is dark and rainy, and the fountain has been turned off until next year.

As I write this, on the night of November 5, county auditor’s offices nationwide are buzzing. I’m writing while I sit in my county courthouse because I have a gig with a research company that some mainstream broadcast news outlets use for election results. When I said yes to the job, I thought it would be exciting, but it's tedious. I’m given a desk to sit at and hear and see many of the county auditor’s employees.

I’m constantly taking photos, but I get a little shy about taking photos of people at their polling place. So this is a photo of me after I voted on Tuesday morning. The parking lot was full and the rooms were full too, but we didn’t have to wait in line.

This is a sign inside the auditor’s office.

I get my information by visiting my county’s official website, which contains election results. One of the county employees told me I didn’t need to be here because I could simply view that website from my home. “I know,” I said, “But they are paying me to be here in person.”

This is a glimpse of the sheets I use to record the numbers before I phone Edison Research.

I’m paid to arrive 30 minutes before the polls close, which was 8 p.m. It is now 10:07 p.m., and there are no results posted on the website.

Currently, I can hear a female employee talking on the phone to someone from a polling site. I’m not privy to what it is exactly.

I’ve been doing this gig since 2017, the same year my mom died. It gave me a sense of purpose during my grief and gives me a little income. I feel like I’m helping in the patriotic process of democracy. But I hate staying up so late.

Every once in a while, people walk in with large tubs containing paper ballots. It’s kind of fun to see. When they leave, they are happy that their jobs are done. One of my friends works as an election judge and has a 12-hour day.

Most of the auditor’s employees are around the corner and further back from my cubicle. Some employees are sitting in the County Commissioners board room and county the absentee ballots.

The most exciting thing in my years of doing this was that a snowstorm prevented a couple of townships from bringing the paper ballots in. St. Louis County is as large as the sate of Rhode Island.

The above is what I see on our County website. Nothing has been added yet. But I’m expecting some results soon.

Above: At 9:18 p.m., 18 of 87 counties are reporting, but so far, not St. Louis County, which is my county.

This is a screenshot of the Northland News Center website. I don’t know where they are getting their information because when I checked the St. Louis County website, I still had zeros. But this congressional district is huge, so they must have gotten results from smaller counties within the district.

Election 1932

Back to my headline question what do the elections of 2020 and 1928 have in common? I’m gonna guess that most of you already know that in November 1932 incumbent Republican President Herbert Hoover was defeated in a landslide by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, the governor of New York and the vice presidential nominee of the 1920 presidential election.

But did you know that Hooever's vice president was Charles Curtis, a man of Native American and White European ancestry?

This work is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1929 and 1963, and although there may or may not have been a copyright notice, the copyright was not renewed.

Charles Curtis was a mixed-raced man who served as Pres. Herbert Hoover’s vice president.

But did you know that Herbert Hoover’s vice president, Charles Curtis, is believed to be the first mixed-race vice president? Curtis was a member of the Kaw Nation born in the Kansas Territory in 1860 and nicknamed “Indian Charlie.”

While a senator, he introduced the Curtis Act of 1898 to Congress. This act encouraged the cultural assimilation of Native Americans and resulted in the break-up of tribal governments and communal lands.

In his autobiography, Curtis said the final version of his proposal left little of what he had wished for, and he was unhappy with it.

This file is a work of an employee of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain.

Kamala Harris and Charles Curtis are believed to be the only mixed-race vice presidents to serve.

How many terms and years did Franklin D. Roosevelt serve?

Roosevelt served from 1933 until he died in 1945, some 13 years.

He was elected four times.

How many vice presidents served with FDR?

FDR had three Vice-Presidents during his four terms in office: John Nance Garner of Texas (March 4, 1933 - January 20, 1941), Henry Agard Wallace of Iowa (January 20, 1941 - January 20, 1945), and Harry S. Truman of Missouri (January 20, 1945 - April 12, 1945).

Who was the president when Janette graduated from high school in 1948?

By Frank Gatteri, United States Army Signal Corps - http://www.trumanlibrary.org/photographs/view.php?id=2267, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10104

Harry S Truman was president when Janette graduated in 1948. Did you know that Harry’s middle initial didn’t stand for anything like Janette's father, Russell G Minehart? So, no period was needed. However, Harry often included a period when he signed his name; Russell did not.

My manuscript will go until the year 1952

Minehart Hardware, the Minehart residence above the store and most of downtown Avoca burned to the ground in 1952. Who was the president in 1952?

This work is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1929 and 1963, and although there may or may not have been a copyright notice, the copyright was not renewed.

Harry S Truman was still the president when a fire burned Minehart Hardware. The date of the fire was January 1952. In November, Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected.

Well, thanks for reading. This has gotten longer than I intended. If you are still up tonight, enjoy this little jaunt down memory lane.

And tomorrow, we might know who won what.

At midnight, my information for St. Louis County shows that we are neck and neck in most all races.

President

Kamala Harris 10,175

Donald Trump 10,445

Congressional District 8

Jen Shultz 10,011

Pete Stuaber10,762

Senator

Amy Klobuchar 11,623

Royce White 8,5010

We have other races, like judges and county commissions, but Edison wants national results only.

Good night, and see you in the morning.

Naomi