That should not be the question. Even if you can't stand either of the two media appointed contenders for President, you should still go out and vote. Make up your own rules. Vote for the people with the longest names (at least they have to work that much harder to sign any stupid laws or corporate giveaways). I once went and decided I would vote for all women. Of course, when men were the only choices, then I had to vote for the one with the most feminine sounding name. When that didn't work, I'd go back to the one with the longest name.
I wish they would put stuff like sexual orientation and handedness on the ballot. It would make it even more fun. I could vote for all of the left handed gay politicians!
Heck even birth dates would make it more fun. I could vote for all the left handed gay Aquarians!
Every time I've gone to vote, there is always at least one choice that I don't know anything about. I wish they would have Internet connections at the voting booths so I could do some last minute research. I usually take some dice with me. 1-2 I vote for this one, 3-4 I vote for this one, 5-6 I vote for this one. The people watching the booths normally don't bother me and I try to roll the dice quietly.
When are they going to have online voting? You go to town hall at the end of September and show that you are registered to vote and are handed a randomly assigned Internet voting card. You login with your card, change your password and cast your votes. Anytime up to November 4th you can view or change your votes using your login card and password. I'd go for that. Maybe I can talk the government into giving me $700,000,000,000 to implement it. Heck, I'd do it for 1% of that.
Since 1994, I've had a permanent absentee ballot, meaning that for ALL voting, I vote by mail. Oregon started this in the '90s and Washington started not long after that. It's not quite as good as the online voting you suggest, but from a security & trace-ability POV, it's got lot going for it. IMHO, it completely rocks.
ReplyDeleteTypically, I set aside an hour or two to sit down with my ballot and a laptop and go through the various propositions, taxes, positions, etc. one by one. Usually I vote against ALL voter-sponsored initiatives just in principle (they completely subvert representational democracy), but occasionally I'll thumbs-up one. WA has a death-with-dignity measure up this year that I really hope passes.
Anyhow, if Texas has a permanent absentee ballot provision, you should try it. The cost is a stamp, but that's probably still a lot cheaper than the gas & time it takes to get to your polling station....
For the curious:
ReplyDeleteYou may vote by absentee ballot in Texas if:
* You will be away from your county on during the early voting period AND on election day;
* You are sick or disabled;
* You are 65 years of age or older on Election Day; or
* You are confined in jail, but eligible to vote.
Don't let these West Coast folks make you think you're missing anything. It's fun living in the dark ages.