I have voted! Have you?

Another year, another election.  This time of year always makes me happy that Lisa and I don’t have TV and that I don’t listen to much commercial radio.  The few campaign commercials that I was ‘lucky’ enough to hear were more than enough.  No matter what camp you may or may not take part in, I think everyone can basically agree that campaign advertising is more or less useless.  Those hat aren’t blatantly for or against someone or something only manage to confuse.  Sadly, campaign commercials seem to be the main source of ‘information’ for many voters.

Enough complaining about the adverts, let’s talk actual voting!

Crappy, non-standardized ballots notwithstanding, I very much enjoy the voting process.  Just the opportunity to take part in democracy is a wonderful thing.  To add to the fun, Lisa and I filled out our absentee ballots together.  It was a blast discussing the different candidates and measures in a way that allowed both of us to have our own opinions.  Sometimes we agreed, sometimes we didn’t, but that didn’t stop us from voting.

One aspect of our voting process that not all countries follow is that our votes are anonymous.  The upside is that all registered voters can participate and not feel that they will be harassed or persecuted for their opinions.  The downside is that anonymity can lead to apathy as you don’t have to put your name on the line to back your opinions.  Where is the responsibility to make educated decisions if there is no personal accountability to those decisions.  It’s very much like comments and message boards on the internet.  Those who take part anonymously typically do so because they aren’t willing to be held accountable for their comments.

In that vein, I have decided to post at least some of my votes during this mid-term election.  For readers who don’t know, I am registered to vote in Ventura County California.  I am not affiliated with any party.  I lean Libertarian.  That means that I am a fiscal conservative, I’m for small government, and I’ll choose social freedoms over dictated morals.

Governor: Meg Whitman (R)
Lt. Governor: Gavin Newsom (D)
Sec. of State: Merton Short (Amer. Ind.)
Controller: John Chiang (D)
Treasurer: Bill Lockyer (D)
Attorney General: Timothy Hannan (Lib.)
Insurance Commissioner: Clay Pedersen (Amer. Ind.)
State Board of Equal. 2nd D: abstained for lack of knowledge
US Senator: Carly Fiorina (R)
US Representative 24th D: Elton Gallegly (R)
State Assembly 38th D: Cameron Smyth (R)
All judges: abstained for lack of knowledge
State Education Superintendent: Tom Torlakson

Prop 19: No
Prop 20: No
Prop 21: No
Prop 22: Yes
Prop 23: Yes
Prop 24: No
Prop 25: No
Prop 26: Yes
Prop 27: No

Yup, there they are.  My votes.  Feel free to comment, but any comments that are no more than “you’re wrong for that choice you stupid ignorant moron” will be moderated.

Cheers!