Address changes

It was once common for campaign workers of all parties and factions to collect change-of-address cards from voters who had moved.

Voters would merely fill in the blanks on one of those cards or provide updated information on the back of their current voter registration card, and hand it to the campaign worker, who was trusted to then deliver it to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, where it would be officially submitted.

The Machine believed that if somebody gave a campaign worker a completed change of address card to deliver to City Hall, that person was going to vote for whomever the campaign worker supported, as a reward for the worker having done them a favor.

In the 1973 special election for 50th Ward Alderman, I delivered a bundle of these to the Election Board and handed them to the designated employee.

“You were supposed to bring these to Ward headquarters last night,” she said, hoping I would think I had missed the deadline (and letting on that she was involved in the opponent’s campaign).

 “No,” I replied. “They are due today. In this office. Here they are.”

“Well, you should have brought them in last night,” she repeated, trying to get me to leave without turning them in. All those voters, whom she presumed were voting for my candidate, would have then been disenfranchised.

 But I persisted and she had to accept them.

David PattComment