They will be sending ballots out in the mail this week – so it’s time to decide how my ballot will be filled. While “those bastards” have worked to make voting more difficult – I can no longer vote at Trego school, but must drive into Eureka if I want to avoid voting by mail, they have chosen to essentially eliminate counting and reporting write-in votes, and if Christi Jacobsen, our Secretary of State, should ever run against A. Hitler, I will mark my X favoring Hitler.
Some of my votes now take less time and ink. If a candidate is unopposed, like the County Superintendent of Schools, leave the circle blank. That candidate is going to win anyway, and the only way our votes count now is by their absence. We had an elections administrator recommending that unopposed candidates be elected by acclamation, and getting rid of even that greatly reduced electoral input. If enough of us withhold the vote from unopposed candidates, it will be noticed. Somehow, still using the County Superintendent as an example, if Suzi is elected to a county-wide position with fewer votes than a Trego school trustee, the numbers will provide the message. This is nothing personal – the County Soup position is too often unopposed, and candidates are required to be (Montana) licensed teachers with 3 years of experience. That’s another spot for systemic failure – our public schools teach to the median, and mediocrity is the normal outcome of directing any program at the median. Kind of by definition.
In Lincoln County, we still have protest votes available. While I can no longer express my disappointment with an unopposed candidate by writing in Mickey the Mouse, I can vote for a Democrat, or a Libertarian candidate. Here, neither has a snowball’s chance of winning, so my vote will not affect the outcome – but the lower number of votes received show dissatisfaction. Take the Sheriff election – I’m not unhappy or dissatisfied with the incumbent. I am unhappy and disappointed in how our electoral system has reduced voter input. Again, Mickey the Mouse and Donald Duck have been taken from me. The nice thing about the Sheriff position is that anyone can run, regardless of education and experience.
I’ve been informed that I’m a double hater – I vote against both parties. It isn’t hate – generally our Republicans have more incumbents locally so I know their records and most have, at one time or another voted against my interests. At the national level, there are lots of reasons to vote against the Democrats.
We desperately need politicians who will reduce the national debt and strengthen the dollar. That means that I accept the need for austerity. I’m politically unchanged – socially liberal, meaning I want a government that will leave me (and others) alone, and fiscally conservative – meaning I want a government that squeezes a nickel until the buffalo snivels, until it rains on Monticello. When in doubt, vote against. When there is only one candidate pass. And in those rare instances when the incumbent is good, contribute and vote to keep him or her.
Leave a Reply