This weekend I finally pulled out my absentee ballot and sat down to review my voting for the August primary. As a registered Democrat, I was voting for US Senator, and then two races each for circuit court judge and school board, each with just two candidates. A fairly simple one this time! It will of course be much longer in November.
The school board ones were very interesting to me (I mean, "interesting"), as they are not done by party: that is, I was only voting for the Democratic options for Senator, to pick who will run against the Republican candidate in the final election, but the school board candidates, who as it happens are Republicans (not that unusual in Florida), are not separated by party in the same way.
Which meant that when I was reading about each candidate, I ran into things like this (as a "Value You Bring to this Position"):
Ohhhhh-kay. Kneel for the cross. In public schools. Yeah, no.
The ballot is completed, as is Mom's, and I dropped them both off at the library, which is an early voting site. I'm a big fan of early voting, though absentee is even easier, as I can do my research at home and fill it out without waiting in line. How does it work where you are? Do you have early voting? I think it's a great idea. Anything to make it easier for people to vote!
Anyway, the library is very convenient: I had a book due to return, and a hold that came in, so two errands in one stop. Yay!
Thank you for voting! Re the candidate: what's that old line about how mixing religion and government destroys both?
ReplyDeleteI found out--through an article in Piecework Magazine of all places--that in frontier Deseret, now Utah, a woman running for lieutenant governor (yes you heard that right; one of the things Utah had to give up to get statehood was woman's suffrage) was mad at my great-something grandfather for not allowing her to hold a political rally at the church. He told her firmly, Separation of church and state here in his new country. (He had arrived from Sweden.) He prized that and she was not going to mess it up no matter who she was even if they belonged to the same religion.
I'm from a rural area so we've always done mail in ballots. I think some bigger places in CA are starting to do that too but I'm not 100% sure to be honest.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it was available in Mass (probably?), but I love it here, especially with Mom's health issues making it easier not to have to go in person.
DeleteCalifornia has gone mail-in statewide in the last few years.
DeleteI love early voting. I do it exclusively, and in person at the County Board of Elections. It's one of the top perks of retirement for me.
ReplyDeleteKneel for the cross indeed. This Christian Nationalism is ugly. If they want to be so involved in government, then their churches should start paying taxes. Seems fair.
I would absolutely do early voting if I wasn't doing mail-in. It's great when there are options.
DeleteTotally fair!
Your school board isn't elected by party? I seem to recall when we first moved here ours wasn't; but now it is - and there was a recent huge dust up over party on the school board. And I'm wondering why? The children don't know or care about party - and isn't this position elected on what's best for the children?
ReplyDeleteYou would like to think so!
DeleteWe mail in our ballots in WA (without needing stamps) and there is also a drop box at my library which I use sometimes. My school district elected some Moms for Liberty people; they were sneaky and didn't mention how extreme their views are and now we're stuck with them. I didn't vote for them because I did my research (and know one of them) but others didn't.
ReplyDeleteI think I would have needed stamps if I was dropping them in the mail, but not when dropping them in the box at early voting.
DeleteYeah, I hate doing all the digging into candidates but it sure does turn up some doozies, doesn't it.
Yay!! I've been excitedly waiting for that Baldree book to come out. I hope it's as good as L&L.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if we have early voting, but I love going to the polling place and looking the Trump voters in the eye as I cancel out their votes. I am petty like that.
I can understand the impulse!
DeleteOh that little snippet from one of the candidates is GROSS. Kneel for the cross? BLEGH.
ReplyDeleteI need to research my candidates so I can vote on Tuesday. We have early voting but it's downtown and parking is atrocious, so I usually just do it in-person on the election day. My precinct is small and it's very quick!