2016-05-03 – So tonight, both Hillary and The Donald will inch their way another step toward clinching their parties’ nominations. It could be over in both cases or it could drag on, but with no surprises left.

Every four years we have these battles, with bizarre rules that often weed out the best candidates and promote the worst. Or vice versa. You never know. It’s like a lottery.

So that got me thinking. If our elections are like a lottery, shouldn’t there be a winner? I’m tired of Powerball where the prize is rolled over to next time. I want to see a winner every time. And I’m not talking about the candidates. I’m talking about the voters.

So here’s my proposal.

What if everyone who voted got a lottery ticket? And when the last polls close, a drawing is done and someone win a multimillion dollar jackpot? And what if the Mexican government got Donald Trump to pay for it?

That last bit is a joke.

The rest of it is a serious proposal. I’m a Democrat, for want of a better party. Republicans are into suppressing the vote. Democrats are into encouraging people to vote. So here’s a way to encourage people to vote. Give everyone who votes a change and winning a prize.

I’m not concerned about details. You can work that out for yourself. There could be one big national prize. Or there could be prizes by state or by congressional district. Whatever. The point is that, if a person goes to vote they should stand a chance of winning something.

This is probably illegal. But who cares?