How I Became Christian

When I lived in Michigan, I chose not to register with any political party. As a professional political journalist, who covered local, county and state officials in both major United States political parties, I felt I had a duty and obligation to be as impartial as possible with my coverage of the issues, and believed having no political philosophy that could be pinned on me was an advantage in my reporting on topics important to our readership.

I retained my NPA (no party affiliation) when I moved to Florida in 1999, and a year later discovered there were subtle differences in the voting methods between the two states. In Michigan, anyone could vote in primary elections, regardless of official political leanings. This means that Democrats could vote on the Republican side of the ticket, or vice-versa. It also meant NPAs such as myself could vote on either side of the aisle. The only catch was that you couldn't split your ticket.

Not so in Florida. As I discovered while campaigning for my CPF David Traill (a coworker at South Fork High School who was running for state representative as a Republican), if it's a contested race, only voters within that specific party can vote ... which meant I was not allowed to cast a ballot (and missed voting for the first and only time).

I was with Traill at the Martin County Office of Elections when I discovered this quirk, and was none too pleased to find out I was unable to vote for the man for whom I was campaigning. Despite all the signs posted along roadways, all the fire ant hills I'd stepped in, all the staples we had shot at opposing candidates' signage, I could not make my voice heard at the ballot box. Traill came up with the brilliant idea of inquiring of the elections department employees if I could rescind my registration and re-register. They consulted with the department head for about fifteen minutes, and said it was allowed (although I still couldn't vote in the primary; I'd have to wait until either the general election in November, or a run-off election in October if needed). To the best of their collective knowledge, I was the first individual in Martin County to ever rescind and re-register in one fell swoop.

Traill didn't advance past the primary, so I never did vote for him. But about a month after becoming a member of the GOP, I received a personal letter from The Rev. Donald Wildmon, chairman of the American Family Association. In it, Wildmon said he was writing me because I was "a good Christian voter with good, Christian morals and values."

So, following the logic, by becoming a Republican, I also converted.

Friends of mine had a field day with this. Traill offered to take me Christmas tree shopping. Others offered to introduce me to BLT sandwiches, to mass, and to communion. Others were jealous of me having two paths to heaven.

I have since switched parties (Palm Beach County is more heavily Democrat), but still don't vote along a specific party platform. I'm not sure if I am still Christian, though.