Missouri has a bunch of state amendments this time, and most of them are terrible. All kinds of unrelated crap shoveled onto them which the ballot text doesn’t even mention. (Increase tax on cigarettes to fund education, but (hidden) restrict stem cell research and abortion and a secretly appointed corporate cabal gets to decide how the tax money is actually spent…) And to confuse matters, there’s also a competing cigarette tax proposal that is sponsored by convenience stores, which is a small increase AND a potential prevention of any future tax increases AND some other garbage, and even if it passes and the other one doesn’t it’s likely to die in court.
And then on the wall of the polling place there’s this 6 foot by 6 foot poster that has, in a small font, the actual text of the amendments.
I really wish we had early, at-home voting, and better standards on how much cruft gets to be piled onto a state amendment.
Can you get the full texts of the amendments online? Or is that only at the polling place?
We have about 4 this time in my state. Only voting yes for one, I think, since the rest appear to be some real anti-democratic (small d, not the party, the process) horseshit.
I think having the option is good, but I think the thing that voting by mail allows you to do is get the information sent to your house where you can actually read through and process it better. Maybe having the option to vote by mail, but send everyone the information packet on the issues and candidates.
I feel obligated to point out that the election is a carefully staged spectacle designed to distract us from our real power. But I also recognize that my point will be lost in a sea of enthusiasm for the election, as excitement and encouragement to take it seriously comes from so many sides and sectors of society.
I understand. We all want a solution, or failing that, at least some kind of meaning to the systems which run our lives. I hope some day we find it.
We do get a decent booklet from the county elections commissioner with details on the candidates and initiatives whether we vote by mail or in person. More than 200 magazine-size pages this year, including the full text of each proposed law. It’s surprisingly non-shitty.
Texas had early voting, so I voted over a week ago. I pulled weeds at the polling station, which had a big long line but it was moving fast enough that I didn’t feel like the 45 minutes I stood there was agony. The fire ant bites on my hands, those were not so good.
My funny old German (but U.S. citizen) mom applied to vote by mail, her ballot has yet to come, and now it’s the last day. Now she wants to take her own sweet self, 85 years old and with her heart in ungood condition, and vote at noon (that’s the best time for her to manage to be out and about). The lines will probably be… longish.
Thank Jah it’s not going to be another hot 100°F day (~37C). We’re looking at 60% chance of rain, and I don’t know if I should follow her with a chair and an umbrella, or just go to work. My husband voted early too, maybe it’s possible that for the promise of vegetable korma tonight I can persuade him to go with her since I have to be at work (unless I can persuade my boss to let me off for part of the day).
“racist cheapjack, a gallon baggie of apricot pruno left to go rancid in the sun until it bursts like a beached whale” is a most excellent description.
I voted all (D) by mail weeks ago 'cuz I’m tired of ® regression and obstruction.
Obama’s first term was disappointing and his second term was mediocre. He could have been an excellent one-term president, assuming he did things to make those who voted for him happy and those who voted against him unhappy. As a two-term president, he’s just okay.
I am not nearly as enthusiastic about Clinton as you are. This election has been really agonizing for me, and I wanted to sit it out, even though I knew I couldn’t. I don’t believe for a second that Hillary Clinton is progressive, but her administration (fingers crossed) will allow the real progressives to get stuff done. Political action is more than a four-year set-and-forget, and it’s more than a two-year horse race with 17 candidates on a side. It requires a genuine investment in the political process.
It is possible that this is a Smart Trump vs Dumb Trump situation, although that’s extremely unlikely, and I’d still vote for Smart Trump if it were true. I’m cautiously optimistic that her administration (fingers crossed) will not only keep us from regressing as a country, but will also allow progress to be made, even if the progress doesn’t come through her.
Reducing this as far as it will go, I just want Trump to not be president, which I guess means that I prefer Clinton. It’s a Hobson’s choice, but a Hobson’s choice is still a choice. In reality, I will be even more critical of her after the election, but first we need to get the neglected baggie of fermented apricots and bodily waste off the stage and away from the fucking white house.
