QOTD #56: Do you vote in local elections?

Local elections affect me much more than national ones. Haven't missed a vote in 40+ years.

Colorado is very good about publishing a pre election handout that describes both sides of any referendum, as well as the case for any proposed tax increase.

I'll generally pass on judge retention and college boards, I don't generally know enough to make a good decision and I refuse to vote a party line for any party.

 

That sucks, when I lived in IL, it was a bit of a challenge to figure out some of the referendums. Colorado sends me a ballot specific handout that tells me exactly what will be on my ballot with pros and cons of every referendum . They also translate any ambiguity, Yes means this. Any tax request will include a statement of the current budget and the reasons that an increase is required.

I find them to be very enlightening and fairly unbiased. We're on our own for people, though.

 

I live in the Great Democratic People's Republic of NY.
Voting in Presidential elections is largely a waste of time because 8 million liberals in the state are going to vote for the Democrat no matter who it is.
But local elections greatly affect us individually and man are ours close.
To wit, we had an election for Town Supervisor last fall. There were 3 candidates running in the primaries. Various pairs were on the Democrat, Republican, and Conservative tickets. All 3 primaries were tied!
So the same 3 ended up running in the general election. The top 2 were separated by less than 20 votes out of 1500.
For this reason I never miss a local election. I also go to the local candidate forums and debates.

 

Do you vote in local elections? Short answer: yes. Long answer: I currently can't because I am not a citizen where I currently live (where the local and national elections are the same thing).

How do you stay abreast of local politics? Even living abroad, I stay abreast of local Toronto politics. I don't follow it as close as I have in the past, but I keep an eye on things. As for the politics of Singapore, I keep half an eye on them. I don't stay up on local politics as much as I have.


Do you feel your vote makes a difference in local political races? When I could vote, I definitely believed (continue to believe) it is important to exercise your rights and to make the effort (I believe this about all levels of government).

 

I vote in every election. It is the responsibility of every citizen to educate themselves about the state of their country, their region, their municipality, or what have you, and to vote on the issues and the candidates, to sign petitions when needed, to communicate with their representatives, to write letters to the editor and/or blog posts about current events, and even to create petitions or lobbying drives when necessary.

I read newspapers (online, not physical newspapers), and I listen to my local NPR station, which is excellent, and I know a few people in local politics, and speak with them about what's happening.

Sometimes I feel like my vote makes a real difference. Often I don't. But it's important to do what's right, and not give up hope that it will help.

 

I vote in every election.
Or at least I did until I moved to NJ.
Then you had to register in a party to vote in the primaries.
I'd been voting in the open primaries in Alaska all my life so this just boggled my mind.

 

Colorado is even worse. You have to register to a party, then show up at a caucus and argue politics with your neighbors. I won't do that.

 

I have voted in most elections since I turned 18. I have also worked the polls a few times, which makes for a LONG day but does give perspective on who actually participates in local elections/politics.

I am going to caucus for the first time on Saturday in Nevada.. it will be the first caucus for me. I can't wait to see what it will be like! So used to closed primaries (though you can switch parties) in Ohio!

 

I have often wondered if I would have an entirely different attitude towards the parties if I hadn't grown up in a state with open primaries.
Being in a caucus state would be even more interesting.
I'm not sure if it would be something I would want to do all the time but I'd be really interested in checking out the process.

 

Voting is compulsory in Oz, even for local elections, so yes, I vote. For national and state voting, they actually take the compulsory voting quite seriously, but local elections not so much, partly because you have to be in your local area to vote for local elections, whereas state and federal elections, you don't (i.e. you can vote in any polling place anywhere in the country/state for these).

 

I'm a big fan of compulsory voting and people being registered automatically when they turn eighteen (they would have to opt out on purpose).
I'd be a fan of having election day being a national holiday.
I think we make it too complicated to vote and not enough people bother to vote.

 

I also grew up in an open primary state (IL). The whole concept of declaring allegiance to a single party is offensive to me. Both suck and I'd be embarrassed to be associated with either. The concept that my political inclinations become a matter of public record is also offensive.

Once you get past the party registration issue, the idea of meeting with my neighbors to argue politics is uncomfortable as hell. I'm religious about voting; but only on a secret ballot.

In Colorado, at least, I'm locked out of the Primary process.

 

I sympathize with the whole not wanting to be locked into party affiliation thing. The Democratic Party has been too conservative for me my entire adult life (this year excepted, perhaps). But I registered Democrat, not because I am "declaring allegiance" to them, but because that's how I made sure I had some kind of voice in the primary process. I regard it as like the political equivalent of ordering cable TV. All the companies suck, but if you don't sign up with one, you don't get any chance of even bad service.

 

Yes, most of them. I have missed a few where none of the offices were particularly important...but that is no excuse because it is important important to elect the best people regardless of the office.

There is another factor. Under our Texas constitution, many offices require elections. This was done intentionally as a reaction to the cronyism, nepotism, and general disenfranchisement that was Reconstruction. An old joke here is, "We even elect the dogcatchers." Sadly, that's not far from the truth.

Houston is obviously part of Texas and part of Harris County. Some election years cover many state, county, & city offices. Add to that the Houston School Board positions, Port of Houston Authority positions, a variety of judicial positions which includes Justice of the Peace, etc. Now add to that many bonds, referendums, etc. On the right year the election ballot can be overwhelming.

The major offices and issues are easy. However, many of the elected positions are so "minor"--and there are many of them-- it's nearly impossible to know much about the people running. When we have four normal people with no real public profile people running for the same office, it's tough to make an educated decision.

 

There are several groups who "do the legwork." The thing I question is hidden agendas and thoroughness. Some groups are upfront about promoting & supporting certain policies, other less so. From what I can tell TLOWV is fairly neutral.

When putting together summaries of the candidates and issues, it's very easy for a group to make unintentional and intentional omissions. Some candidates are so Plane Jane/Joe Average there is no way to know in advance what they're thinking and what they might do if elected.

There is a downside to having too positions determined by election. Conversely there is a downside to allowing too many positions to be filled by appointment.
--- merged: Feb 19, 2016 at 3:56 PM ---
Good grief I made a lot of typos when my brain runs faster than my fingers.

 

Yes I do. I'll comment More when I have a minute