It’s Your Choice

I voted on Sunday.

Please consult your election volunteers for instructions

I don’t get political on this blog (or in public forums) for several reasons, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a political person.  I am, and I do tend to agree with one side more often than another.  I’m registered to vote as part of one of the major parties.

Why would anyone vote for Alomar?

Yet, that doesn’t define me, and that’s one of the things that bugs me the most about modern politics.  Too many people believe that you must agree with your affiliated party no matter what.  If you don’t, then you’re just as bad as the other side.

I’m signing my name in support of Frank Thomas

That line of thinking also assumes that the other side is bad or evil.  Somehow a political party is able to claim a moral high ground over another (and they both try).  As if morals aren’t tied to individuals.  There are good people  points in the spectrum.  There are also terrible people in that same spectrum.

He has the laser sharp focus and power to get things done

That just makes our job as voters more important, and tougher.  All the attention goes to the presidential election, but please don’t forget that the state and county offices are equally important, and voting straight down the party ticket may not be the best thing for the place where you live.

But don’t get too wrapped up in one race that you ignore the rest

After looking into things further and researching the various candidates – from Senators to the 9 people vying for 5 spots on the water board – I tried my best to look past party and look at their positions and how they wanted to approach the job they’re applying for.  Also look at the judges (if that’s on your ballot).  There are resources out there to see if various legal review boards think the judge is qualified to retain their seat.

Make sure the people you vote for aren’t just cartoons

In the end, my ballot consisted of Democrats, Republicans, and Green party candidates.  I may have picked terrible people without knowing it, but I tried to do my best to avoid it.  There were a couple times I specifically voted against my registered party because I knew that candidate wasn’t fully above board in the way I wanted.

This post is a pure Big Hurt Party ticket, but I suggest sprinkling a few other players

All I’m saying is get involved.  I understand that no one is going to decide to vote because I’m saying you should.  That’s fine.

Make sure you select the right box. It can be tricky

Still, I hope that this might get you to think about who you’re voting for and why, if you’re not already.  In my opinion, the increasingly divisive rhetoric and behavior won’t get better unless more people are at least willing to vote for the other parties when it’s appropriate, because if the party leads know they can count on your vote no matter what, they’re going to start (or continue) doing who knows what.

Stumpy is predicting the future. And an appropriate name for this post.

That’s it.  I really don’t have anything else to say, even though the scans are still coming.

The only prize for voting is the hope that your life doesn’t get worse

If the ballots looked more like this, I think turnout would be a lot higher.