In a moment we’ll get presidential again as I had promised in my last article but I must tell everyone that the last day to sign up for the Chicago trip will be this Monday.  I still have room on the bus: Leave at 7 a.m. Nov. 30th — Lighthouse Mall, Tommy Guns dinner theater, plenty of free time, German Markets, Navy Pier, two nights at Courtyard on the Magnificent Mile, tips, taxes and fees, Lincoln Park Conservatory and all transportation. Price $399 double, $349 triple $299 quad (an $800 savings!) 419-303-5482 Day or night.

As reported by the Discovery Channel, “On Election Day in 2000, television news anchors informed their audiences that they could not reveal who the next U.S. president would be. The race between George W. Bush and Al Gore was just too close to call. Ultimately, Bush would be sworn in as the 43rd president, although he didn’t win the popular vote. That made President Bush the fourth president with that distinction. In 1824, John Quincy Adams became president although he lost the popular vote to Andrew Jackson; in 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes became president even though he lost the popular vote to Samuel Tilden; and in 1888, Benjamin Harrison became president although he lost the popular vote to Grover Cleveland.”
Now what does all this have to do with postal history?  Glad you  asked.  Today we are  experiencing  a whole new  manner  of handling  election day - Vote by mail. Each state has been able to set up its own system for absentee ballots and voting by mail. The following is part of the website  for  the Secretary  of  State of California outlining their commitment to make voting a rewarding experience for everyone.  “Here, you will find the tools and inf ormation you need to register to vote, sign  up to vote by mail, locate your polling place, prepare to vote for the first time, and get answers to your questions about voting. With the goal of inspiring and preparing every eligible citizen to vote, the Secretary of State provides this New Voter page, plus election-related materials, and voter hotline assistance, in nine additional languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese. For information in these languages, please choose from the menu of “New Voter Information” links....” In a outlined area on the page were the words “New Voter Information” written in each of the nine languages cited above.