Big Election Held

Originally Aired: March 1, 1940 Lum #264, "Big Election Held," Election day arrives in Pine Ridge, and the stakes couldn't be higher as the men and women of the town face off at the polls. Lum and Abner anxiously await the vote count at the store, with Lum running for mayor against the women's ticket led by Melvie Moots and Mamie Seastrunk, while Abner finds himself in an uncomfortable race against his own wife Elizabeth for chief of police. The tension stems from Lum's failed attempt to break up the Women's Protective Association by spreading gossip, which backfired when the women discovered his scheme and gave him a beating. As the votes are being tallied, Squire Skimp arrives with confident predictions of victory for the men's ticket. He reveals to the increasingly nervous Lum and Abner that he's ensured their win through some questionable methods at the polling booth, having every man in town vote twice. While both Lum and Abner express reservations about winning through such tactics, Squire convinces them it's for the good of Pine Ridge to keep the women out of office and disband their protective association.