Jack’s Angle: Bring a pen with you on election day, Nov. 6, 2024 – John J. “Jack” Partridge

by John J. “Jack” Partridge, contributing writer, commentary

Do not give up on voting in the presidential election, even if the two leading candidates are still Biden and Trump, neither one of whom you would vote for.

The pundits say a “write- in“ is a wasted vote. Not so. First you would be exercising a hard won privilege.  Be a patriot and be serious about it – “Mickey Mouse”, a perennial favorite, is not helpful. The pundits also would have us believe that our votes are only important in so called “battleground states”. Also wrong for the same reasons. If we all vote we can take encouragement in our electorate’s  thoughts.

If a third party candidate not on the prepared ballot doesn’t appeal to you, write in the name of someone that does from across the political spectrum. Every vote so cast will show that Americans are awake – and frustrated with the two major parties – one under control of a single candidate and the other as fractious as ever. We can thereby encourage new faces and ideas to surface.

You would likely have to risk the befuddlement of the polling officials when you ask for a paper ballot, but it is worth the time and effort.

Be a champion of democracy on election day. Let the parties know the great middle of the road of the electorate is aware of their game. and refuses to accept it. We need new voices (even those in a party), as well as those who might need encouragement to take the challenge of being an outsider.

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To read more columns by Jack Partridge, go to: https://rinewstoday.com/our-team/john-j-jack-partridge/

John J. ‘Jack’ Partridge, is a retired lawyer and Senior Counsel to the firm of Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP, with four offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.A Pawtucket native, Jack graduated from St. Raphael Academy and summa cum laude of Providence College, where he majored in history. After Harvard Law School, he served in the United States Army in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal. In 1967, he joined the firm of Tillinghast Collins & Tanner. In 1988, he became a founding partner of Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP.

Jack has been engaged in many civic, political, governmental, and business organizations, serving as legal counsel to the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce for 27 years and was chairman of the Old Slater Mill Association, Common Cause Rhode Island, and Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island.

He is the co-founder of The Pawtucket Foundation and an officer and director of innumerable not-for-profit entities. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Pawtucket Boys & Girls Club and was Treasurer of the Ocean State Charities Trust.

Jack has a long history of leadership involvement with Providence College, which recognized him in 1999 with the Providence College Alumni Association Recognition Award for Public and Community Service, and in 2011, with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

He is married to the former Regina McDonald and has three children: Sarah, Gregory and David.