The Bullet Vote

In the final election the bullet vote may not really matter, so why are some wasting all their votes?

Is it that special interest groups are manipulating the polls or is it the candidates themselves or community leaders who are manipulating the voters?

In the City of Lynn Elections, there are two races where voters can select multiple candidates.

In the School Committee election there are 6 candidate choices. In the Councillor at large race there are 4 choices.

A bullet vote is when a voter chooses to select only one candidate, not using all their possible votes.

This method gives a vote to their favorite candidate while leaving other candidates behind in the race.

Question is, who would give up the right to all their votes and why?

Special interest groups like city unions, ethnic or minority groups or other organizations probably instruct their followers to vote for one candidate.  This is often done to address interests special to them, but does not help vote for the candidates who will address city wide issues.  

The Sept 17 Primary is the best time to see the face of the political machine in action.

These are the results, but are they telling who will win in the final?

http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/citydepartments_clerk_votingresults_primary_2013.shtml

In the Primary election there was a yes/no vote on the ballot whether or not to bond $92 million dollars for the Marshall Middle School.  The Teachers Union attendance at the polls was probably well organized, therefore votes for candidates who had a strong support for the bond like Ford, Starbard, Carrasco, Cappola, Capano, Gately and Gallo were higher than others.  There was an even spread among these candidates.   Neighbor to Neighbor a minority group and other organizations pushed the vote for Carrasco and Romaniello.  Correction- Romaniello is not a minority but good friends with the group's organizer.

The same bullet vote may have occurred in the councillor at large race, but it was a little more interesting since the top vote collector Buzzy Barton, a former fireman and teacher displayed the poorest performance in the debates and skipped a couple of them. It maybe safe to assume the unions bullet voted here. Next is Crighton. The organized democratic party probably pushed for this candidate since Crighton works for McGee as chief of staff.  Crighton already makes a paycheck working on Lynn issues, so will another pay offer more?  Then there is Hong Net, who works for the state but has no strong political power. Most of Net's ethnic community probably gave Net a bullet vote. Neighbor to neighbor pushed the minorities Net and Funez who did well himself.

In the mayor's race, there is no bullet vote, because one must choose one candidate.  However, since it is believed the unions are the ones who went to the primaries, this explains why the candidate who came out the strongest was Mayor Judy Kennedy.  The finals might give a different result.

Unless the new comers chime with political games, the incumbents could remain in office unless more of the community goes to vote at the polls.   The next election is November 5th.  

One last question!  Do you think the candidates will come through on their promises after elections, or are just using the people until they are through??