How to avoid family ballot box brouhahas this festive season

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Good luck impeaching a family member.

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With all the verbal garbage floating around the campaign trail in the U.S. and the possibility of federal and provincial elections closer to home, the upcoming holidays could become a political minefield for unprepared families, according to experts.

The U.S. election has become such a divisive topic that some couples with fall wedding dates are refusing to serve alcohol and are posting “no politics” signs during the reception, the New York Post reported.

The New York Times reported on Illinois spouses-to-be Katie Newell and Elijah Gallinger, who are getting hitched on Tuesday (election day in the U.S.) and won’t be allowing booze at their wedding bash.

“I think there will be people on both sides, but I don’t think anybody will cause any crazy trouble,” Newell told the Times.

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However, there will be plenty of other times for family members to bicker as U.S. Thanksgiving approaches, quickly followed by Christmas, Hanukkah and other end-of-year celebrations.

The topic was recently studied in the U.S. with a report in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology stating that only 23% of couples have different political party affiliations, the Post reported, with even fewer (8%) split along Democratic and Republican party lines.

But that doesn’t mean their families and friends will vote the same way.

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“From casual friendships to lovers, what seems to be distressing is not just choosing a candidate, but the aftermath,” relationship expert and author Rita Watson wrote in Psychology Today. “Even an uncontested election will leave approximately half the nation unhappy.

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“Within relationships, dissatisfaction with an election outcome might even mirror or magnify disagreements between couples and among families.”

Watson offered some tips to help defuse the tension and make your bipartisan ugly sweater party a hit.

They include identifying the conflict; assessing the pros and cons of your feelings; ignoring differences and focusing on what you have in common; thinking of reasons to be grateful for a family member or friend; focusing on love and gratitude; thinking of ways to make peace with an outcome that you may or may not like; and trying to find a compromise.

If it all sounds too stressful, curl up with some eggnog at home.

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