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Tag: Election

Oh Crap, I Have to Vote Tomorrow

Published by Editor B on Friday, 3 October 2008

Now that we’ve gone back to closed primaries in this state, I was under the impression that there would be nothing on the ballot for me tomorrow. I’m pretty sure that I cannot participate in the high-profile Democratic primary for the 2nd Congressional District. I believe the Democrats let independents vote in their primaries, but I’m not independent; I’m registered Green. I just assumed everything on the ballot was primary stuff, so I haven’t been paying much attention.

Frankly I was happy with that situation. Voting is the least effective means of civic participation. It’s a duty, and kind of a pain, so I was glad to be sitting on the sidelines for this one.

But it turns out there’s a bunch of stuff on the ballot that I can vote for. Or at least I think I can. The Secretary of State’s sample ballots unfortunately don’t account for party affiliation. I guess I won’t really know what I can vote for until I get in the booth.

There’s six judges and a magistrate on the ballot. There’s also the District Attorney and our district seat on the school board. I don’t understand why there is no primary for these races, but it looks like there isn’t. I am open to any and all voting advice.

There are also two propositions, a bond issue and a charter amendment. The amendment would fund the office of the Inspector General. I’m definitely voting for that.

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Voting Philosophy

Published by Editor B on Friday, 19 October 2007

My voting philosophy is pretty simple. Here are my general rules:

  1. Vote against the incumbent, if there is one.
  2. Don’t vote for a candidate of either of the two major entrenched parties.

These are not rigid by any means. I’ll make an exception if I believe in a particular candidate or if some other calculus suggests itself.

Of course, following these rules often means voting for someone I don’t know too much about, or voting for someone who has values that are antithetical to my own. But I’m OK with that. These candidates usually don’t have a prayer of winning anyway.

For the record, I don’t consider voting for a no-chance candidate to be “throwing my vote away.” It’s a protest vote. This is not a frivolous choice. Given the current state of affairs, I think protest is the only rational approach. When the top contenders do not inspire, there’s no other way to express one’s displeasure. I wish we had a “None of the Above” option in many cases.

If I follow those rules tomorrow, I might vote like this:

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