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Today was primary election day here in Joisey. I went to the polling place (this time they put it in the community room of the old age home) and exercised my Constitutional right and responsibility.
The polls were open since early in the morning. I was there at 3:45 PM, and the serial number on my voting tag was 5.
Yup. I was the fifth person from my ward to go cast my ballot, nine hours after the polls opened.
Now it's true that the election is totally meaningless if you're registered as a Democrat, because there is only one candidate for each position, so you basically either vote for the guy on the ballot, or you do a write-in. Surrogate, vote for one, one candidate listed. Assembly, vote for two, two candidates listed. Board ofFrozen Cheeseholders Chosen Freeholders, vote for 2, two candidates listed. Etc. If it weren't for the statutory requirement for a write-in candidate, they could have skipped the whole damn thing altogether and saved themselves a bundle of money.
Even so, more people should have showed up. Simply because they can. Ask any immigrant from an autocratic country who has gained citizenship here, and you'll find that they never miss an election.
And I'm told that in Australia it's actually illegal to fail to show up to vote.
(So why am I registered Dem when my political leanings are more GOP? Simple: I grew up in New York City, where the results of the municipal elections are essentially determined in the Democratic primaries. Until Giuliani, no Republican candidate ever had a chance at any office, and there was never more than one GOP candidate running in any given election anyway, so there never were Republican primaries. You wanted to vote, you registered Democrat, and that was it.)
The polls were open since early in the morning. I was there at 3:45 PM, and the serial number on my voting tag was 5.
Yup. I was the fifth person from my ward to go cast my ballot, nine hours after the polls opened.
Now it's true that the election is totally meaningless if you're registered as a Democrat, because there is only one candidate for each position, so you basically either vote for the guy on the ballot, or you do a write-in. Surrogate, vote for one, one candidate listed. Assembly, vote for two, two candidates listed. Board of
Even so, more people should have showed up. Simply because they can. Ask any immigrant from an autocratic country who has gained citizenship here, and you'll find that they never miss an election.
And I'm told that in Australia it's actually illegal to fail to show up to vote.
(So why am I registered Dem when my political leanings are more GOP? Simple: I grew up in New York City, where the results of the municipal elections are essentially determined in the Democratic primaries. Until Giuliani, no Republican candidate ever had a chance at any office, and there was never more than one GOP candidate running in any given election anyway, so there never were Republican primaries. You wanted to vote, you registered Democrat, and that was it.)
) and to prop up a regional airport in Wichita, of all places. But that's the joy of being a liberal in a mostly conservative state; all the folks out in western KS think that Brownback's the best thing since the Creationist museum.
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