SecretMethod70

Forget president - that's a whole other ballgame. I'm interested in how you deal with smaller elections. House of Representatives? State representatives? Etc.

Think about this and try to be honest with yourself - how much do these things impact your vote?

Campaign commercials?
PAC commercials?
Letters to the Editor?
Campaign mailings?
Newspaper endorsements?
Other endorsements? Is there a particular organization (or organizations) whose endorsement you look for?
Speaking to volunteers for one campaign or the other over the phone or at your door?
Do you go to or seek out events where you can hear the candidate speak?
Name recognition?
Political party?

In local elections, what do you do if you aren't familiar with the candidates? They're often very small campaigns and there aren't many opportunities to get to know them unless you specifically seek it out, and most people don't. Do you vote based on party? Based on whose name you do know?

What about if there's an incumbent who has been there for a long time, and maybe he hasn't done a bad job as far as your concerned, but that doesn't mean the other guy couldn't do better. What does it take for the other guy to convince you? Are you more likely to believe the incumbent's criticisms of the challenger or vice-versa?

I'm interested in hearing what your thoughts are on these issues. For a lot of people, voting is a very complex process, because let's face it - most people don't have the time to read all the policy papers a candidate may write, or hear all the speeches. Especially as the positions get less important, are you more likely to vote on a single issue?

Endorsements are particularly interesting to me. A lot of people don't realize, just because an organization like Planned Parenthood endorses a candidate, they may not actually be the best pro-choice candidate on the ballot. Typically, these organizations endorse the incumbent so long as he or she has a decent record on the issue, even if the challenger is more in line with what they'd want. They do this so that they are still able to work with the incumbent should they win.

So what goes into your vote? How much do you put into these lesser races which often get overshadowed by the vote for president?

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Reese

I don't blindly vote. It doesn't take me long to decide who I'm voting for. Usually it ends up being a democrat. Sometimes I'll vote for the incumbent just to make things easier, like County Sheriff, both guys were decent guys but why vote someone else in when the guy running it now is doing a fine job? Sometimes, Nothing an office can do would affect me, so I'll go with someone that's going to help my friends.

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“It is better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick” - Dave Barry

jewels

I usually have an agenda of two or three main issues and look for the candidate that represents these values.

If things are currently bad, I will usually vote against the incumbent.

Campaign ads are almost always insulting and ridiculous and they've never swayed my vote for a candidate, but sometimes the negative campaigns will sour my attitude towards one.

For larger elections, I will listen to speaking engagements and debates. I want the candidate I support to be able to speak clearly and with passion. Maybe I want to believe he/she cares.

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We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess.
Mark Twain

ratbastid

I compare their policies, then vote the Democrat.

Really, honestly, if a Republican or Independent (or whatever else) was more in line with the direction I'd like to see the world move, I'd vote for them instead of the Dem. But that hasn't happened yet.

If it's a race that I'm not well informed on, I pick up a voter information flyer, usually available from my polling place. If I don't care about any of what a person is running on (school board elections, in particular, seem basically to be beauty contests), I abstain.

MSD

I research the candidates, even if it's just enough to know one major issue each person is concerned with. In local elections I go for moderates on education, a conservative but open-minded group on finance (the ones who aren't going to stonewall everything but also aren't going to allow development that overloads our infrastructure,) and usually the incumbents (since most of them have been doing well) on things like probate court. Any local politician who pisses me off with some boneheaded policy or stance loses my vote, and I'm not afraid to write in someone.

For state legislature, my big concerns are the budget, the environment, taxes, and whatever idiotic gun control laws the Brady bunch are trying to push on us again. For US congress, it's whichever candidate whose platform doesn't make me nauseous, even if it's a third party who has no real chance.

kurty[B]

[QUOTE=ratbastid;2525234]If it's a race that I'm not well informed on, I pick up a voter information flyer, usually available from my polling place.QUOTE]

Voter information flier. In my state/county one is sent out in late September/October. I read up on the people and the laws proposed, and if I'm still boggled (some of the wording for the laws can be misleading) I do more research online, in various newspapers (read the liberal and conservative press' point of view to try and get a rounded perspective) and then mark off my list when I go to the polls of what/who I'm voting for. I'm hoping my absentee ballot shows up soon, that will make it easy to have it in front of me and do the research I need to make an informed decision.

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In the Absence of Information People Make Things Up.