Did you Kind Lifers manage to squeeze in some election research homework in between your Halloween festivities this weekend? I spent some time on Sunday, checking out all the resources I talked about in my last blog about this year’s election and here’s what I learned: There is a lot of really fascinating information out there… and there’s also a lot of super-boring information that made my head hurt. But hey, that’s democracy for ya.
First, I looked at the candidates. The Easy Voter guide gave me a quick overview of each candidate and what their general positions are. Then I searched C-Span and Youtube for debates and speaking appearances (no commercials!). It’s important to listen to where candidates stand on the issues, but also to remember that they’re people too – and sometimes if you get a bad feeling about someone, you gotta trust your gut. I found some really impressive candidates out there… and a few who were just a wee bit too slick and salesman-like for me.
For the Propositions, I once again consulted the Easy Voter Guide and then also watched those helpful Center for Governmental Studies videos. They enabled me to get a handle on most of the issues, but for a few that I was still on the fence about, I consulted The Courage Campaign. Courage Campaign also has a voter guide, but this one tends to look at candidates and issues from a more progressive viewpoint, which turned out to be very helpful in making sense of some of the more confusing prop measures.
OK, now can we talk about judges for a minute? What on earth are we doing voting for judges when there is literally NO information about them anywhere?!?!? It’s crazy-making!!! I feel like we might as well just pick names out of a hat. I looked high and low to find some info that would help inform my choice, but I’m sad to report that I couldn’t find any. If any of you Kind Lifers have good resources on how we can pull the lever or punch the ballot tomorrow for judges that are kind, wise and compassionate, please share! And if you have that info specifically for Californians, please email it to me so I can use it myself!
Anyway, after all that self-educating, here is how I decided to vote tomorrow:
- Governor – Jerry Brown
- Lieutenant Governor – Gavin Newsom
- Attorney General - Kamala Harris
- Senator – Barbara Boxer
- U.S. Representative – Henry Waxman
- CA State Assembly – Mike Feuer
- Prop 19 – Yes
- Prop 20 – No
- Prop 21 – Yes
- Prop 22 – No
- Prop 23 – No
- Prop 24 – Yes
- Prop 25 - Yes
- Prop 26 – No
- Prop 27 – Yes
Now, please know that these are just my choices – and obviously they may be of less interest to those outside California. But feel free to share yours. However, if you do, remember that this is a place for open minds to educate and inform, so do it kindly!
