Hall of fame voters take duty seriously
Jim Lokhaiser's first experience with voting happened on his own family's property.
“I voted right behind my house,” Lokhaiser said.
When Lokhaiser was growing up in Butler, his father owned a garage next to his house. A gymnasium above that garage was a polling place, where Lokhaiser cast his first vote at the age of 21. He said his first election was in either 1956 or 1957.
“I just don't remember,” said Lokhaiser, who was a Democratic county commissioner from 2008 to 2012.
With such a long history of voting, Lokhaiser is among the 17,615 people who are in the Pennsylvania Voter Hall of Fame, including 883 from Butler County.
To be eligible to be a member of the Voter Hall of Fame, a person has to vote in every November election for 50 years.
Since 1982, the Voter Hall of Fame has been administered jointly by the Department of State and each of the state's 67 counties.
Carol Aichele, state secretary for the commonwealth, said members of the hall have a special place in state history.
“They bridge generations, from a time of war and depression to one of peace and prosperity, and understand how precious our freedoms truly are,” Aichele said in a statement.
In September 2011, 260 county residents were inducted into the Voter Hall of Fame, the first ceremony of its kind in the county since the late 1990s.Lokhaiser, 77, of Center Township was one of them.He said voting is important because the United States' founding fathers granted that right, and a lot of people have fought and died to be able to freely vote.“I think it's a privilege,” Lokhaiser said. “I admire that.”He said that the primaries in the spring are the most important elections because they let people select candidates for their party.“I just think that voting is something that people should do,” Lokhaiser said.When he first started voting, he said that municipal office personnel were treated with more respect and consideration by voters than they generally are today.“They took the positions more seriously at the time,” Lokhaiser said.He said that he has talked to younger people who do not understand the voting process or politics. “It's sad,” Lokhaiser said.Since he began voting, the one big change he has seen is the increase in negative advertising or advertisements that attack a candidate. He believes this is part of the reason for voter apathy, particularly at the national and state levels.“It just really turns people off. I can see why people don't vote,” Lokhaiser said.Helen Maley, 82, of Donegal Township first voted in Bradys Bend Township, but she did not remember what year it was. However, she first voted in Donegal Township in 1961 and has voted there ever since.She said that voting is important because it is a way for people to get their voices heard. She said it also is the best way to get things accomplished in government.“That's why I vote every year,” Maley said. “If you don't vote, you don't have a right to criticize anyone who's in (office).”When she first voted, she cast her vote on a paper ballot. Now, she votes on a computerized voting machine.She said that she has seen the interest in politics and voting change over the years.“I think it's decreasing with the younger population,” she said.Of all the candidates she has voted for, her favorite was President John Kennedy.“I liked his policies, and I think that the country was in better shape when he was president,” Maley said.Harold McDowell, 87, of Slippery Rock Township cast his first vote in 1947, the same year he moved to the township.“We voted ever since,” McDowell said.“That's one of our constitutional rights, to vote. We all should vote because that determines what kind of leaders we have in our government,” McDowell said.The biggest change that he has witnessed in the voting process is people's attitude toward voting, particularly the attitude in younger people.“They vote less, and they don't think ... it is important,” McDowell said.This is in stark contrast to the past, he said.“Everybody mostly voted,” McDowell said.
Another major change is the technology of voting.Although he started voting on a paper ballot, McDowell said that he prefers computer voting machines. He considers it easier to use and almost foolproof.“I think it's great that we have the technology that we have today,” McDowell said.President Ronald Reagan is his all-time favorite candidate who he voted for. “He is my favorite president,” McDowell said.Violet Wetzel, 82, of Saxonburg cast her first vote when she turned 21 in the early 1950s.“I voted every spring and every fall since,” Wetzel said. “I figured it was my duty. I figured it was my responsibility, and I just do it.”She said many people today do not take voting as seriously as they should.“I don't think they recognize what they are doing (when they vote),” Wetzel said.She said the best candidate is not the most likable, but the one who is the best leader.“Who is going to do the best job?” Wetzel said.Anyone interested in becoming a member of the Voter Hall of Fame may contact the county Bureau of Elections at 724-284-5309 or download an application at www.pavoterservices.state.pa.us/Pages/VoterHalloffamehomepage.aspx.
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