Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Early voting starts today (Thursday), so it’s time for all of us to hold our noses and cast our ballots. When it comes to state and national elections, it seems that most candidates care more about party loyalty than the people. I’ve learned over the years – with Democrats in charge, then Republicans, then … – that the lives of most people will change very little. The hard-cores on both sides will try to scare your socks off about their rivals, but the reality is that the lives of most people don’t change much no matter who is elected.

It’s a primary, so Democrats will only choose their Democratic candidates, and Republicans will choose their Republican candidates. The winners will face each other in November.

Unaffiliated voters – or those of us who choose not to be a part of a particular political party – can choose which primary they wish to vote in. If you’re more interested in local politics, by all means vote in the Republican primary. If you’re more interested in state and national politics, choose your poison. While Democrat candidates are few and far between in Davie County, there are plenty in state and national races.

It’s pretty much a given that Donald Trump will get the Republican nomination for president. How many of you can name the other two Republicans on the presidential ballot? That’s what I thought. Until I looked at a sample ballot, I couldn’t have, either. But this Joe Walsh guy is intriguing. Isn’t he the “Life’s been good to me so far” guy from the Eagles? No, he isn’t. He’s the
Republican who claimed he would vote for the Democratic candidate before he would Trump.

Don’t get your panties in a wad, Trumpers. Walsh may be misguided, but he’s not dumb. He dropped out of the race last week. If he had stayed in, my guess is that he would have received a lot of votes from people who thought he really was the guitarist and singer from the Eagles. Voters – on either side of the political fence – aren’t the smartest people in the world. Walsh’s name will still be on the ballot, but he’s not running.

And there’s Bill Weld, a former Libertarian candidate, who’s trying to oust Trump, as well. His chances of winning are less than the chances that my next lottery purchase will make me a multi-millionaire.

The Democrats are obviously facing an uphill battle, and their ballot shows it. There will be 15 names on the presidential primary ballot. I’m not even going to try to find out which ones are still running. Several of the names I’ve never heard. It seems unlikely that any of them will be able to  muster enough support within their own party to even come close to beating Trump in November. But like ballgames, politics can be tricky. Neither side should give up or take anything for granted. You never know.

•

Another ballot initiative is for malt beverage (beer) and unfortified wine sales to be allowed in Davie County. This election is open to all eligible voters – Democrat, Republican, or like me, those fed up with partisan politics.

There are five issues to be decided. The questions look confusing, but they’re not. Study the questions, and decide how you’re going to vote before you cast your ballot. It could be very confusing if your first reading of the ballot is at the polling place. There’s off premises sales, which means folks would buy their beer and wine to go. There’s on premises sales with two choices, one means that beer, the other wine, could be sold by any business with a proper permit. The other allows the sales only in restaurants and at Class A hotels and motels. Another would allow both.

I understand the problems that alcohol consumption can cause, but in our mobile world, finding booze isn’t hard. From what I’ve heard, way back when a lot of counties didn’t allow alcohol sales, folks still found their booze. There’s an ABC store in every town in the county. There’s off premises sales of beer and wine in Cooleemee, and Mocksville and Bermuda Run allow spirits to be sold in restaurants, as well.

Davie County isn’t asking for ABC stores, just to allow businesses in its jurisdiction to be on the same playing field as those in Mocksville, Bermuda Run and Cooleemee.  It seems fair enough.

– Mike Barnhardt