In Oregon we have proudly voted by mail for a long time. In 1998, for cost-cutting reasons, we were the first state in the nation to enact voting by mail as our primary means of casting a ballot – though ballot drop off is always an option. In 2000, we were the first state in the nation to conduct a Presidential election by mail.
My favourite part about our state elections is the voters’ handbook. Do y’all get those? I have voted in Idaho, Nevada, Massachusetts, Colorado, Vermont, and California, but I only recall having these amazing booklets here. It contains photos of all the candidates, and their biographies, to include who supports them. Best of all, it includes measures to vote on, and simple explanations of what will happen with a “no” or “yes” vote, and importantly what it will cost me annually, and then pages and pages of “for” and “against” arguments submitted by anyone who wants to, that give me tons of great information.
This year’s booklet included a colouring page. I ripped out the page, scanned it, and coloured it using my computer this morning. Now it’s so pretty!
I recently listened to a great BBC Global News podcast collaboration with Americast in which they defined election jargon for the US election. I recommend it, and the website says it’s available for 24 more hours, so maybe this link will work for you: Jargon Podcast. They define terms like gerrymandering and super PAC and informed voter. I found it interesting and educational.
For listeners outside the USA, they explained briefly what a midterm election is and why it’s important. Midterm means we are halfway through the Presidential term, and lots of people are up for re-election. Basically, we are not voting for President this time around, but depending on those others who ARE elected (Senators, Representatives, Governors) we might be able to choose how powerful the current Dump in chief gets to be for the next two years. Right now, he can do pretty much anything he wants, because Dump sycophants are packed into our House and Senate. Those of us who believe ourselves to have suffered because of this, are hoping to replace as many of those bootlickers as possible.
Pedro and I have already voted. We signed up for our county’s ballot tracker, which lets us know when our ballot was mailed to us, when it is received back, and when it is successfully accepted. It will also let us know if it is not accepted, and if you catch it in time, you can correct the problem and try again to get your vote accepted. A co-worker once had his ballot rejected because his current signature no longer matched the signature that the state of Oregon had on file from 15 years earlier.
I hope you vote when you get a chance! Just imagine living in a country where you had no opportunity to cast your official opinion, on behalf of your place in your community. Imagine living in a country where your vote is mandatory, and the individual you vote for is also mandatory, and if you don’t vote for that person your opinion is discarded. Those of us who have a working democracy are so incredibly lucky.
How disrespectful it is to have a say and not have the decency to say something. Please vote.
