“Every election is determined by the people who show up.”
― Larry J. Sabato, Pendulum Swing

“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”

― Abraham Lincoln

If you haven’t already devoured the U.S. election coverage like a Thanksgiving turkey drumstick, I came across some oddities about elections that you might find interesting.

Forget the red versus blue states and who won Florida — the real information you need is all here. Earlier this month we blogged about some unusual indicators that historically seem to predict who will win the election.

In this blog we discuss important issues like what’s up with an election on a Tuesday? And why is it rare a politician is photographed wearing sunglasses?

Last question first. Politicians are almost never photographed wearing sunglasses, especially during election campaigns and even at leisure because style consultants tell them people won’t trust them as much.

President Obama plays golf with the sun glaring in his eyes, and this summer, Governor Mitt Romney was photographed on the back of a jet ski, bare-eyed, though his wife Ann wore sunglasses.

Sunglasses, though a fashion must if you want to look cool, are considered a barrier between them and you (every heard the expression, “Eyes are the windows of the soul?”).

And elections on Tuesdays? Why not the weekend? And why November?

One easy answer is because it’s federal law in the United States; a law that dates back to 1845.

In the early decades of the union, most Americans made their living as farmers and lived in rural areas. Planting fields and crops took precedent in the summer, but by November the harvest was over. The weather was still dry and mild enough to allow travel over dirt roads and making a trip to a polling station meant an overnight trip via horseback.

Another good reason for having a November election — it’s far enough from April 15 that voters have forgotten about the last tax-day and haven’t started worrying about the next one.

“People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people.  Of course, that is not true.  Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote – a very different thing.” 

~Walter H. Judd

“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” ~Winston Churchill

“If God wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates.”   – Jay Leno

You don’t have to fool all the people all of the time; you just have to fool enough to get elected. — Gerald Barzan

“I believe that voting is the first act of building

a community as well as building a country. ”
— John Ensign

“The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don’t have to waste your time voting.”
— Charles Bukowski

“Majority rule only works if you’re also considering individual rights. Because you can’t have five wolves and one sheep voting on what to have for supper.”
— Larry Flynt