It's the first Tuesday after the first Monday of the Month of November. We all know what that means, right?
It means "Election Day": the day on which the law provides that Federal elections must be conducted. This does not mean that non-federal elections cannot be conducted on Election Day. In fact, elections are conducted in towns and cties across the nation on Election Day.
In particular, the Town of Bedford comes to mind, because (a) it's where I report hyperlocal news for All About Bedford (hey, it's not the AOL Patch, but it's got me as it's very inquisitive reporter), (b) it's where a lot of famous people live, including Martha Stewart and the two stars of the iconic suburban nightmare movie, Fatal Attraction (Michael Douglas and Glenn Close), although blessedly, not with one another, (c) it's where Bill and Hill almost moved before choosing to stay in Chappaqua (hrmph) and (d) it was the home of one of the most ubiquitous politicians this nation has ever had the honor of electing: The Honorable John Jay, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court and Second Governor of the State of New York.
In honor of Election Day, and in honor of the ubiquitous John Jay (whose name is on parks, schools and streets everywhere, including in San Antonio, Texas), I give you now a picture of Election Day, painted almost entirely by numbers:
We begin with the number "1":
"One" is the the number of years that have passed since the last presidential election, which technically makes 2013 an "off" election year. It's not even a mid-term year. So, 2013, might feel quite inadequate.
But hey, 2013, don't feel bad: At any moment, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds may be coming around to the Town of Bedford's Village Square to vote for their Town Supervisor and other local offices.
Same thing with Rob Thomas, Paul Schaffer, Chevy Chase, Ralph Lauren, Catherine Zeta Jones, Rooney and Kate Mara's parents, and Richard Gere (okay, that one's a stretch, as he lives in neighboring Pound Ridge, but he does own the Bedford Post Inn, right smack in the heart of The Town of Bedford).
And of course, Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, who I repeat, do not live together, notwithstanding the fact that Glenn Close's character in Fatal Attraction spent time cooking in the kitchen of Michael Douglas's character's Bedford home. (Let's not talk about the fact that what was being cooked was a bunny. That said, if you want to see the famous scene, it's here.
We move straight onto "7":
"Seven" is the number of days on which Election Day can possibly fall.
Notice how Election Day never falls on Tuesday, November 1? That is because if November 1 falls on a Tuesday, then the Election will not be November 1 but November 8. If you sit with a calendar and study it as I have (obsessively), you will see that there is no way that Election Day can fall on November 1 or any date later than November 9. That leaves seven days on which Election Day can fall.
And here we have another "7":
"Seven" is the number of casinos that could be built in New York State if a proposal on today's ballot passes voter approval.
But let's put things in perspective with another "7":
If the casino proposal passes, during the first seven years thereafter, NO casinos can be built in New York City, Long Island or Westchester, and only four can be built. After the seventh year, applications for casinos in New York City, Long Island and Westchester will be accepted. But only three (which is disappointing if you were hoping for a casino-strip in Manhasset, White Plains or the Upper East Side).
Moving onto a fractional number, we have "1.5":
"One and a half" is the number of governors of the state of New York who actually made their home in celebrity-friendly Bedford.
The first is John Jay, as mentioned above. John Jay was New York's second governor. Born in Rye, he made his home in Bedford, where his homestead still stands as a landmark in the Village of Katonah.
The ".5" is for Andrew Cuomo. Now, some might say he was a Bedford resident. And some might not. It all depends on who you're asking. This is because the home he shared in Westchester with his then-wife Kerry Kennedy was on a portion of land designated as "Bedford Corners." Bedford Corners is not an official hamlet within the Town of Bedford. Nevertheless, if you wrote Cuomo a Christmas Card, you would have sent it to an address in "Bedford Corners." Further complicating the matter is that his zip code was not a recognized Town of Bedford zip code, but rather the zip code used in nearby Mt. Kisco. Finally, Cuomo's home was zoned not for either of the two School Districts in Bedford, but for the school district in neighboring Armonk, New York.
That makes Jay the only governor to have, without a doubt, resided in Bedford.
Speaking of Jay, the number "1" comes back to mind.:
"One" is the number of times John Jay lost the race for New York State Governor despite that he had received more votes than his opponent. It was a whole vote-counting scandal with an arcane flavor that is not worth explaining now. Interestingly, the scandal did NOT involve hanging chads.
Speaking of hanging chads, here is an Election Day fact relating to the number "3":
"Three" is the number of times a presidential candidate lost the race despite having won the popular vote.
This happened in the elections of 1876 (Rutherford Hayes lost the popular vote to Samuel Tilden but became president anyway), 1888 (Grover Cleveland lost reelection to Benjamin Harrison despite winning the popular vote) and 2000 (Bush, Gore, hanging chads, let's try not to think about that today though).
With Jay, the number "2" also comes to mind:
"Two" is the number of times John Jay ran for president. Obviously, that didn't work out so well for him. In 1796, he lost to John Adams. In 1800, he lost to Thomas Jefferson.
It's not clear why John Jay didn't seem to connect as a presidential candidate, despite his close ties to George Washington, who offered Jay the position of Secretary of State in 1789. Jay declined.
And that brings us back round to the number "3" for our grand finale:
"Three" is the number of nominations John Jay declined in his last decade or so of politics:
First, there was that Secretary of State position.
Second, Jay declined John Adams' 1797 re-nomination of Jay to the Supreme Court, of which he had once been Chief Justice. Jay cited poor health, although he lived another 32 years. He also cited the Supreme Court's lack of "the energy, weight and dignity which are essential to its affording due support to the national government." Ouch.
Third, Jay declined to accept the Federalist Party's re-nomination of him to run for reelection for New York State Governor, despite six successful years in the office.
Happy Election Day! Don't forget to vote.