Frequently Asked Questions

• How can I register to vote in Townsend?

  To register to vote in Townsend, a person must be

  • at least 18 years of age
  • a citizen of the United States, by birth or naturalization
  • a resident of Townsend
  • never convicted of a felony

  Many people in Massachusetts register to vote during the process of obtaining a driver's license. Otherwise, you can register at the office of the town clerk (in Memorial Hall), or you can register by mailing in a paper form, which you can pick up at the town library.

  The deadline for registering to vote in most elections is 20 days prior to the election.

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• Why should I declare a political party when I register to vote?

  By choosing a political party, you are demonstrating your support for a set of people and a set of ideas. Politics is a team sport. If you want to really be in the game, you've got to choose a side.

  If you do not associate with a party, you are an "unenrolled" voter. (The adjective "independent" is not used, because there is a political party in California called the American "Independent" Party.)

• What is a political party, anyway?

  In the general sense, a political party is an organized group that seeks to attain and maintain political power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. The party may also engage in other activities, but elections are normally the focus.

  Most parties come together around some set of ideas or concerns, or may form as a coalition of smaller groups which share similar ideas. In 1854, the Republican Party began as a coalition, when various members of the Whig party, the Free-Soil Party, and Democratic party came together, all determined to oppose slavery in the United States.

• What if I don't want to be either a Republican or a Democrat? Can I join some other party?

  At the present time, about half of all voters in Massachusetts are registered without declaring membership in any political party. Such voters are called "unenrolled" voters. (There is a political party called the "Independent Party", so the word "independent" is not used.)

  Since the Civil War, various so-called "third parties" have had varying levels of success. During the past decade, the Green-Rainbow Party and the Constitution Party have become active in some communities in Massachusetts, while, down in Cambridge, you can still find Trotskyite Socialists singing "Wobbly" songs. Also, the Libertarian Party has had some minor success in the Bay State.

• Why bother with political parties? Why can't each candidate run for office on his or her own individual merits?

  Organizing a government without political parties has seemed attractive to many people, and numerous ways to do it have been tried, including legal prohibition of parties. However, in real life, in real governments, different interests always arise, triggering the formation of what are, at least, factions. In the natural course of events, the factions eventually solidify into organized parties.

  Also, most elective positions require cooperation with other officials to get things done, and an office-holder who belongs to a party has a ready-made set of allies with whom to work.

  (The most successful non-party candidate for high office in recent years was Jesse Ventura, the former professional wrestler who was elected governor of Minnesota in 1998 as an "Independent/Reform" candidate. Despite the enthusiastic support with which he began his term, Governor Ventura had no natural allies in the state legislature. So, when an economic slowdown squeezed the state's budget, the governor's plans were squeezed out. As he served out his term in increasing frustration and disarray, public approval of the independent governor plummeted. Thus, in the 2002 election, Minnesotans turned to Republican Tim Pawlenty as their next governor.)

• Who makes the rules about how political parties operate?

  Many of the rules of how political parties work in Massachusetts are part of state law, enacted by the state legislature and signed by the Governor. The party committees at the state and local levels are run in accordance with these laws. Other rules are taken from various authorities on parliamentary procedure. And, from its heritage as a former colony of Great Britain, Massachusetts inherited many forms and customs from the long tradition of government in the mother country.

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• What exactly is a "republic"? Does that have something to do with the "Republican" party's name?

  The English word "republic" comes from the Latin phrase res publica, which means "the people's thing". On the coin at left, a Roman citizen is shown voting for L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla in the plebiscite election of 113 B.C.

  In modern times, the word "republic" refers to a form of government in which citizens elect representatives to perform the activities of governing. This differs from a pure democracy, in which the citizens themselves vote directly on the decisions of governing. (Townsend's town government contains elements of both forms.)

  The Republican Party adopted a historic name which the Democratic Party once had used but had abandoned, years before. At the national level, all parties work within the structure defined by the U.S. Constitution, which is a form of representative, or "republican", government.

  
  
• Why is the Republican Party called the "GOP"?

  This abbreviation, which newspaper-headline writers find so useful, is usually taken to mean "Grand Old Party", a nickname which was first published in 1876.

• What's the deal with elephants?

  The elephant was first used as a symbol of the Republican Party by political cartoonist Thomas Nast in 1874. There are various theories concerning the source of Nast's inspiration, but Republicans appreciate the fact that elephants are strong, highly intelligent, and loyal animals.

• Why is the Republican Party called a "right wing" party?

  The terms "right wing" and "left wing" came from France: back in 1789, when the French National Assembly was first convened, the nobles and barons got to sit on the right (and were called the côté droit), whereas the partisans demanding change sat on the left, and became the côté gauche. (When the French Revolution came, the left wing made sure the right wing lost, not only their seats, but their heads, too.)

  In modern parlance, and generally speaking (which is all we have room to do in a FAQ page), people on the "right" side of politics take some set of "conservative" views on a variety of issues. The unique history of the United States means that political beliefs called "conservative" in America are rather different from "conservative" political positions in other nations.

  However, trying to evaluate all views and ideas along a single line from left to right will always over-simplify matters, because public issues in the real world are always complex and multi-dimensional. This is one reason that, among conservatives, there are many differences in opinions on specific issues. Thus not all Republicans are obviously "right wing" on all issues, although most adherents of the party empathize with at least some conservative positions.

• Why are Republicans red and Democrats blue?

  This widely accepted color association is relatively recent. During the 2000 presidential campaign, on a TV broadcast of NBC's Today show, Matt Lauer and the late Tim Russert were discussing an on-screen graphic map depicting some electoral-vote projections. Speaking of the states whose electoral votes were trending Republican, Russert and Lauer repeatedly used the phrase "red state", and the phrase caught on.

  
  
  
• I saw a TV show where some loud-talking guy said, "all Republicans are reptilian henchmen for greedy tycoons." Is that true?

  If you meet with any of the friendly members of the Townsend Republican Town Committee, you will quickly see that that loud guy on TV does not know what he is talking about.

  It may help you understand why some guy might say a thing like that, if you keep in mind that the purpose of all TV programs (from the point of view of the TV networks) is merely to hold your attention for the commercials!

• I'm still wondering what happened in the 2000 presidential election.

  The events of 2000 ignited a hot controversy which still inflames passions to such a degree that reasoned discussion can be difficult. However, any discussion should take into account the findings of the election study sponsored by USA Today, the Miami Herald and Knight-Ridder, which came to the following conclusion:

  George W. Bush would have won a hand count of Florida's disputed ballots if the standard advocated by Al Gore had been used, the first full study of the ballots reveals. Bush would have won by 1,665 votes — more than triple his official 537-vote margin — if every dimple, hanging chad, and mark on the ballot had been counted as votes.

• Why did I never hear about that study?

  The article cited above appeared in USA Today and other outlets on May 5, 2001, but the silence which greeted the publication is curious.