Don't vote: it's your civic duty
Notes from Underground
Adam Roberts
Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: Opinion
I vote every Election Day, and every year, I panic.??
I'm reasonably confident about the big-ticket items. I know who I'm picking for president and U.S. Congress, but when I look at the rest of the choices on the ballot, I get completely lost.??
According to the Arkansas Secretary of State Web site, I'm in eight different voting districts. I am in something called "Fayetteville Sz 3." ?Does anyone know if there is an election this year in Fayetteville Sz 3? What even is an Sz 3? Is it short for "Size 3?" I wear 34-32. I hope it will explain it on the ballot.??
I think I remember that I also am supposed to be voting for a judge of some sort. My brother mentioned that he supports one woman who is running to be judge, but I don't remember her name. How on earth am I supposed to decide which judge to vote for, anyway? They don't exactly decide many constitutional issues at the district level. Which candidate is more lenient on speeding tickets? That's who I'm voting for.??
I know how I feel about adoption and the lottery, but apparently there's something about a water bond issue. What? I have a take-home exam due on Tuesday - there's no time to research the city's irrigation network!
I also just learned that I'll be voting on a couple of constitutional amendments. I don't really understand why there's a debate about Amendment No. 1, and Amendment No. 2 is so mind-numbingly boring that I almost fell asleep just trying to figure out what it says.??
In the past, if I wasn't really sure how to vote, I'd just fill out that part of the ballot, anyway. One day, that came back to bite me.??
I voted for John Edwards in the 2004 Democratic presidential primary. The candidate I planned to vote for wasn't on the ballot, so I got confused and filled in a random dot. When I got home, I looked up Edwards' positions on trade and hit myself. Hard.??
Now when I vote, I leave most of my ballot blank. I simply don't know enough about most of the candidates and issues to cast a vote and feel good about myself. Casting a random vote would be unfair and would harm the democratic process.??
I'm reasonably confident about the big-ticket items. I know who I'm picking for president and U.S. Congress, but when I look at the rest of the choices on the ballot, I get completely lost.??
According to the Arkansas Secretary of State Web site, I'm in eight different voting districts. I am in something called "Fayetteville Sz 3." ?Does anyone know if there is an election this year in Fayetteville Sz 3? What even is an Sz 3? Is it short for "Size 3?" I wear 34-32. I hope it will explain it on the ballot.??
I think I remember that I also am supposed to be voting for a judge of some sort. My brother mentioned that he supports one woman who is running to be judge, but I don't remember her name. How on earth am I supposed to decide which judge to vote for, anyway? They don't exactly decide many constitutional issues at the district level. Which candidate is more lenient on speeding tickets? That's who I'm voting for.??
I know how I feel about adoption and the lottery, but apparently there's something about a water bond issue. What? I have a take-home exam due on Tuesday - there's no time to research the city's irrigation network!
I also just learned that I'll be voting on a couple of constitutional amendments. I don't really understand why there's a debate about Amendment No. 1, and Amendment No. 2 is so mind-numbingly boring that I almost fell asleep just trying to figure out what it says.??
In the past, if I wasn't really sure how to vote, I'd just fill out that part of the ballot, anyway. One day, that came back to bite me.??
I voted for John Edwards in the 2004 Democratic presidential primary. The candidate I planned to vote for wasn't on the ballot, so I got confused and filled in a random dot. When I got home, I looked up Edwards' positions on trade and hit myself. Hard.??
Now when I vote, I leave most of my ballot blank. I simply don't know enough about most of the candidates and issues to cast a vote and feel good about myself. Casting a random vote would be unfair and would harm the democratic process.??
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Adam
posted 11/03/08 @ 8:40 AM CST
Well said!
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