Ballot info for local yokels

[prog]

Welcome back to LiveJournal! Enjoy your stay.

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This makes me very pleased: If you're voting in Massachusetts next week, you can use this website to plug in your address and see what your ballot will look like, including referenda. Heretofore I have always been surprised by a couple of these questions, and peeved. I have wanted to see exactly this service for many election cycles.

http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php

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I will throw in the rule of thumb that I think I picked up from, erm, either cortezopossum or wrog (both of whom are electionistas in their respective communities), that if a referendum doesn't make any sense to you even after you think about and (if you get the chance) research it, a good rule of thumb is to vote NO.

This seems pretty obvious, since the alternative is basically playing a game of "what does this button do?" with your vote, but I hadn't seen it spelled out like that in the past, and I can dig it.

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My hope and anger are both rising together as Tuesday draws closer. They are both definitely exceeding levels seen in 2004. I am continually crafting and refining my Schrodinger's Cat of an LJ post for that evening, at once a cathartic victory howl and grave-pissing, and a vomiting of hate-fueled rage calling for the obliteration of the enemy. I will not actually post it because in either eigenstate it's rather horrible, really.

Anyway, I am very excited.

Comments

[jadelennox]

I think a better rule of thumb, if you don't understand a question, is not to vote.

[xymotik.livejournal.com]

Geez, I've been spoiled by living in California. There's a lot about the proposition system that's horribly screwed up, but the state and counties get an A+ for communication.

Every election, CA's govt. mails out a book to each voter with election info (I'd say it's a brochure, but this November's version is 192 pages long). It has the legislative analyst's ostensibly non-partisan explanation and analysis of each measure, arguments submitted for and against each one, rebuttals to the arguments for and against, and the full text of each measure. There's also candidate statements for all statewide officials. The whole thing's online in HTML format (or download PDFs of the whole 192 pages in any of 7 different languages, or order the large print or audio versions) at http://www.voterguide.ss.ca.gov/

Then, the county mails to each voter a full sample ballot, customized to include all the candidates and measures for that voter's precinct, and in the same order as they'll see at the polls.

The county guide also includes statements from local candidates, and the same explanations, analysis, arguments for and against, and rebuttals to the arguments for each local measure. Santa Clara County's voter guide is 40 pages long this time.

I'm going to miss this type of govt. info when I move somewhere else. I'm not surprised that Maine doesn't do anything like this, but it's good to see that MA now has at least a sample ballot available.

We have touchscreen voting machines (blech), but at least they now have paper printouts you can review before you cast your vote. The printouts are on a roll and stay with the machine. If I remember correctly, CA de-certified Diebold last year.

Not gonna miss the ads, though. I've gotten well over 50 pieces of mail so far from the supporters of various measures and from the candidates, even from some local school board and county DA candidates. Might be close to 100 now--I've been averaging 3-8 pieces a day for weeks.

PLUS, there's the phone calls. One candidate for mayor of San Jose even enlisted Bill Clinton to record a phone message. I finally gave up and unplugged my phone yesterday. Thankfully, I don't watch local TV or listen to radio unless I'm in my car. Don't know how things are in Mass. (haven't heard anything from the other Jason), but it's probably not this extreme.

[cortezopossum.livejournal.com]

It turns out that out of 5 referenda questions only 1 of them will be directly affected by this vote. The other four are essentially 'opinion polls' and won't automatically be enacted on even if the overwhelming vote is 'yes'.