And why is it that the bay area always carries the vote for california? i mean, i realize there are more of them, but sheesh. |
But, then, there wasn't an election in Ohio. |
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Im mixed about the results. Im a registered non-partisan so i can vote in any party for primaries. I voted on the republican ticket because i wanted to vote for former LA mayor Riordan. Why would I vote republican? Because Gray Davis was unchallenged on the Democratic ticket and that neanderthal ultra conservative Bill Simon had to be stopped. It seems not that many shared my concern. Im pretty sure now, Davis will win the re-election now because ultra conservatives like Bill Simon don't have much of a chance in CA. I only voted in the races i knew anything about. Also, because i was using the republican ticket/booth, i didnt get a chance to vote for any of the other offices...I would have liked to have voted for the Insurance Commissioner job as well but it looks like my pick won by a landslide..John Garamendi. Anything but that guy Calderon, who is pocketing campaign donations by the insurance companies (hello conflict of interest!!!). All the props went my way with the exception of 42...allocating the the state gas tax to be used for transportation. Considering all the other taxes on fuel that are already allocated for transportation I felt this could potentially hurt other matters. I love voting. Im completely warm and proud when i go and stand in line while 3 rotary club ladies help one single woman with her provisional ballot. You can't bitch. They're volunteers, patriots without politics, guardians and facillitators of imperfect, yet one of the best systems available. You have to love that. I suspect i'll be one of those old men behind the folding chairs and tables with a fisherman's hat on issuing ballots. |
Ok, I am done ranting now. |
you mean that if you vote republican, you have to vote party line all the way? |
the rules changed this year. I would have had to go back and either get another ballot or move to a different booth, as the booths were divided by party with each punch card being different. I didnt vote party line all the way...no one else in the republican party got my vote. to be honest i was in a bit of a rush and voted for essentially what I wanted to vote for and got out. there was quite a bit on the ballot and i didnt have a chance to look into each and every canidate. if i don't know who im voting for, i dont vote. |
I was hoping davis wouldn't get relected too. But now our choices are looking dire. I'm pissed about props 40 and 42. We just passed a "california clean air, clean water, etc" bond act like two years ago, and they want more money? I'm just annoyed that everyone was bawling over the electricity crisis and then voted yes on yet another bond act. Argh. And the transportation one doesn't take effect until, when, 2006? But my locals all went the way I wanted them to, so that's all right. |
he transportation bill would take effect immediately and we would be committed until 2008. Its misinformation that they said it wouldnt take effect until then. The problem is that it would divert funds for many years to come that could hinder education, environment and other needs. CA roads, bridges and highways, under the current budget get most of what they need. That was my problem with that prop. they expected this voter turnout to be one of the worst...i havent heard the statewide numbers yet but i hope its better than they predicted. |
A primary is where a party is supposed to pick their candidate for a general election. How can a party pick a candidate if the election is open to everyone? It just doesn't make sence. |
um. do you need me to spell it out for you? |
I just think that if a candidate is to represent a particular party then only members of the party should be allowed to vote in the primary. Otherwise the independants and others weaken the party. |
Parties thrive on inclusion on seclusion. |
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for you guys? When the whole Gore-Bush thing was going on i kept hearing about broken "voting machines". Wtf is a voting machine? what does it do? is it like a punch card or something? Sometimes on the Simpsons (i KNOW, but it's the only time i've seen the american voting process) people vote by going behind a curtain and pulling a lever. Is that thing a voting machine? I'm so confused. If i ever vote, i'd be handed a single small slip of paper from an elderly woman, with the candidates names and parties on it. You go behind a desk or table with a flimsy cardboard screen-type thing around you to block people's view. Then you take the pencil (only the one that they give you) and mark a big X in the box beside the name. No checkmarks, no blakced-out boxes. Then i'd hand the paper back to the lady, who checks it for tampering, folds it for me, and puts it in a box. I'm pretty sure that's the only way you can submit a vote. It's almost impossible to rig anything. That night they lock themselves up somewhere and count all the little paper votes by hand 3 times or so, across the whole country. It's pretty simple.... |
Punch Cards, Levers, Optical Scanners, even online systems. Florida had a punch card system. |
that! wow |
In Mendocino County, which has really antiquated systems, you get handed a ballot with the candidates names on it in a little envelope. You go to a stall (actually, it's a suitcase on legs with metal bits folded out so no one can see you), and you push out little holes with a stylus. It's pretty neat. Then you put the ballot back in the envelope and stick it into a big metal barrel through a slot. Like a piggy bank, but different. But it seems to work for the 46% of us that care. |
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