Tag Archives: voting

Get Out to Vote Today

I’ll be heading out shortly to vote today. I’m in California, and we have some really important issues on the ballot to deal with… most to say “no” to.

Prop 23 is an easy no. It suspends recent environmental policies until California’s unemployment rate remains under 5% for a given length of time, a year as I recall. Only thing is that even in good times, our unemployment rate is rarely that low. It’s funded by oil companies. One guess why they want Prop 23 to pass!

Prop 26 is another easy no. They’re trying to claim it’s about taxes, but it’s really about fining companies who pollute, to make them pay for cleaning up their own messes, or rather an attempt to allow companies to avoid those fines.

Prop 19’s an interesting one. I’m for marijuana legalization, even though I’d never use it. I don’t smoke or drink either. What I’m not certain of is that this one is the right way to go about it. It looks like the rules could get a little convoluted with all the regions able to set their own policies. If it fails, I want it to be a close thing, and for a better version to be on next year’s ballot.

Then there are the politicians running for office. On the big races, none of them make me happy, but I’m going Democratic because they make me less unhappy than their Republican opponents. Sometimes that’s what it comes down to.

Get Out and Vote Today!

If you haven’t already, at least.

I was hoping to vote early, but didn’t quite get around to it so I guess I get to experience any local lines in person. Not especially looking forward to that part. I don’t like standing in line. My sister suggested that I might get ahead in line due to pregnancy, as they would allow for disabilities, but I don’t think I feel that bad. Just achy.

I’m hopeful for the results, although dreading the possibilities of some outcomes. And here in California I know that if things such as Prop 8 (no gay marriage) fail this year, they will return to haunt us year after year. One of the problems with the proposition system is how easy it is for that to happen. I do get tired of seeing certain topics repeatedly.

I don’t pay much attention to the results as they come in. Only results I care about are the final ones. So I’ll probably be avoiding all news tonight, and checking on results early tomorrow morning. Hearing who won what can be exciting, especially in a campaign like this, but it’s just as interesting to hear about a little later as it is right away.

Go vote!

Green Propositions in California Are Frustrating!

California is great for going green in a lot of ways. Lots of sunshine for those who want solar power. Often good incentives for it too. Curbside recycling in many areas.

Unfortunately, the statewide propositions we have to consider aren’t so great.

I have a love/hate thing for the system of state propositions. On the one hand, it means the votes can decide on things the legislature isn’t going to bother with. There’s a more direct say.

On the other hand, some propositions end up really being on things the legislature should have taken care of, because they require so much research to make an intelligent decision on.

The two big ones are Prop 7 and Prop 10.

It pains me to be against Prop 7. It really does. But I see its goals as unrealistic. I’d love to be able to meet those goals, but generating 20% of the energy created by government owned utilities from renewable sources by 2010 strikes me as highly unrealistic. It’s nearly the end of 2008, after all! Add in that opponents include the Sierra Club, the California Democratic Party and the California Republican Party, as well as many other groups.

But does it ever hurt to oppose it. I love the idea! Especially since the goals keep increasing. But I worry about the potential impact on smaller companies, and how we develop our use of renewable energy sources. This looks too likely to be a solution that will slow progress down, not speed it up.

When my family got together to discuss the propositions, we at first thought Prop 10 sounded good. But my mother works for the state and while she doesn’t deal with the budget in her job (she’s in worker’s comp), she certainly feels the pinch when the state can’t settle on a budget and stops paying for a time. For those of you out of state, that’s happened a lot of years lately. They get the back pay eventually, but it’s a pain.

She always gets mad when they say a bond issue won’t increase taxes. It won’t that year, but how exactly do people expect the bonds to be paid back?

Opponents also say this is mostly to fund natural gas vehicles. Not nearly so much hybrids, electric cars and so forth. These vehicles don’t even necessarily pollute less than regular ones!

As you can imagine, being against these two nominally environmental propositions is really hard for me. It would be so much nicer to have something that could be supported as a step in the right direction, even if it weren’t perfect. These two are so far beyond perfect I can’t support them.

Are You Registered to Vote? Why Not?

This year’s Presidential election is hugely important. I have my own opinions on who to vote for, but I’m not going to try to get you to vote my way just now. What I want to see is more participation.

Besides, I’m trying to be green. You can probably guess which side I lean towards anyhow.

If you haven’t already, take this video. Share it with others. Post it on your blog. And make sure you register to vote! Google is offering a great tool to help you figure out how to get started.