Death and Suffrage by Dale Bailey

“Death and Suffrage” is a 2002 science fiction novelette by Dale Bailey. It is about a Presidential campaign manager who begins to doubt his abilities in the midst of a zombie-induced re-vote.

The Undead Ballot

Zombies voting for President? C’mon! It does sound goofy and far-fetched, but then again maybe they will cast smarter votes than some of the living! Either way, it’s an interesting proposal that is explored in depth in this great story.

Non-spoiler Summary in a Nutshell

Rob is the campaign manager for U.S. Presedential candidate Grant Burton. It involves long hours and many days on the campaign trail and, to top it off, after all the hard work it looks like his candidate is going to lose. That is until something strange happens – dead people come back to life and cast votes for him in record numbers. Well, that doesn’t sit well with the courts so they call for a re-vote. As Rob tries to juggle his work and personal life he becomes involved in a tragic incident that really shakes him up. Will he be able to work through it? Let’s hope so, because this guy has some unique talents that could really help out the country.

My Two Cents…

• In all honesty it seems like this should be a goofy or boring story – yet it wasn’t. I found myself pulled into an engrossing tale about the personal life of a political campaign manager. Strange, but true – it was a dang cool story!
• Somehow I didn’t see the ending of this story coming until it was right in my face. I’m not sure how I missed it, but it was a cool revelation none-the-less.
• While this is a great story, just be aware that there are many USA-specific references. That’s all fine and dandy, but if you aren’t familiar with the United States political system then some things might not make much sense to you.

Interesting Tidbits About This Story:

• Page Count: 27
• Word Count: 13,973
• This story tied for 1st place (intermediate form category) in the 2003 International Horror Guild Awards.
• Did you know that Dale Bailey is a college English professor? Yep. You can learn more about this fantastic writer by reading the bio on his web site.

Where You Can Find Death and Suffrage:

• This story was originally published in the February 2002 edition of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
• It was reprinted in Dale Bailey’s collection The Resurrection Man’s Legacy: And Other Stories.
• “Death and Suffrage” was also collected in John Joseph Adams’s collection of zombie stories The Living Dead.
• You can read a free online version at The Living Dead website.

Craving More Stories?

If you liked “Death and Suffrage” then you’ll probably also enjoy The Dead – about a company that re-animates dead people and uses zombies as a cheap form of labor, by Michael Swanwick.

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