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.
Or…you know, don’t vote:
I have voted! My ballot was accepted and my signature was verified. I had a ballot returned to me once for a signature issue. When I was working, I often abbreviated my first and middle names in my signature. I must have been in work mode when filling out my ballot that year because it was returned. This happened well before the attack on elections in 2021. The system works. We must hold steady even, especially, as democracy teeters. Thank you for this.
Bonnie, you must have felt so foolish for signing with your initials, once you saw what happened. I would be asking myself: “where was my head?” ha ha. I believe the system does work. Thank you for voting.
I sent this image to what I thought was your phone number a few days ago, but received no response. Just now I checked and I see I messaged your email, and I don’t even have your phone number. Ha! So funny. I was wondering why you had not responded to my text. 🙂
I sent my number to you on Messenger. I know you aren’t on FB much, but now you have it!
I got it. Thanks!
I would if I could
Derrick, I actually find this comment so hilarious because I was thinking of all of Dump’s rants about election fraud. He’s right about one thing: if illegal voting were to take place, you can count on the votes being cast for anyone but him! I WISH you and Jackie could vote, because I trust the people you would choose to trust. 😉
I dropped my ballot in the box yesterday. Did not get the paper instructions and information booklet here. I’m still worried it won’t help.
Marlene, thank you for voting. Things are shifting, and your vote WILL help. I just heard a long news story about how Texans who have been Dump supporters every day since 2015, are now planning not to vote for him. How the Latino community, that was the basic for much of his support in some communities (to my shock) in the 2024 elections, are finally deciding that his plan is not what they want. Many Texas voting districts were gerrymandered to take advantage of Latino voters, and now Republicans are worrying that it will bit them in the butt in this election. So, if Texas R’s are scared, then Arizona R’s should also be scared. Even if Democrats aren’t elected, I am sure the numbers are going to show waning support.
But also, historically, voters tend to swing during midterms. Most people are silly, and they can’t see past their noses politically. Many people will change their vote based entirely on the price of gas and beef. So, D’s have that in their favor, and it should help.
The Ballot-tracker is a great idea. Here in Ohio, we have early, in-person voting, and the whole family has voted. I’m very anxious about these midterm results!
I am grateful for all the creative ways different communities try to make voting easier for citizens. Early voting is a great idea. Not everyone can simply drop what they’re doing and go to in-person voting on a single day. I remember when I lived in northern California, trying to find time around my shiftwork and a babysitter so I could go find a polling place for in-person voting. It took a network, a car, flexible work hours, etc. just to take 20 minutes to vote – and that’s not counting the steps to get registered. But what if I had pneumonia that day, or my baby did? I would be out of luck. Thank you for voting, and thank your family too!
That is exactly right, Crystal! I remember (I think it was the year Obama was first elected) that so many people were at the polls, they stayed open four hours late. Imagine the possibility of waiting in line for hours and then being told the polls were closing! We need legitimate, alternative voting methods…I’m grateful with you!
To think people chose not to bother voting when for hundreds of years, mamy countries did not offer their citizens this right. Women died campaigning for the right to vote. I can’t imagine not exercising this right, but then I live in a country where voting is compulsory! Fingers crossed for a good outcome.
Amanda, you are spot on to bring up these points. When I heard that in the US, only 70% of people who could register to vote, even register. And in a mid-term, as low as 40% of eligible people actually end up voting. It’s despicable, in my opinion. I am sure there are individuals who have a very good reason not to vote, and I don’t mean them, but as a population…why can’t we go out and vote in greater numbers? Women gained the right to vote here in 1920, though access remained limited. Native Americans (here before anyone else) finally had the right to vote in all states in 1957, but only had that right protected in 1965. And finally, Black Americans – like women – had their access to vote blocked in many cases until their right to vote was protected in 1965. People fought so hard for so many years to get those rights, and yet people treat the right like it’s not important. It is so important.
I actually love the idea of compulsory voting in a democratic country. It should be normalized, that this is just a thing one does as part of a community. Thank you for the crossed fingers! And thank you for voting!
Crystal. I am titally on board with everything you said. Yet, through many discussions with proactive others in many countries, I have a slight doubt about compulsory voting. By and large it is preferable, for sure but then the people who are politically unaware, blind or stupid also get to vote. They arenost vulnerable to gutter propaganda and extemist views and are easily swayed. This means that given enough of them in a community, nutters can get elected. Don’t get me wrong, it is still not enough to change my mind, I support compulsory voting but it did cause a chip in its armour when I thought about this potential downside. Wondering if this might be the reason a far right party potentially gained power? What do you think?
I love that you are using your connection to people around the world and asking questions like this! I am inspired by your action. What you are saying makes sense: people who actively want to vote will try to vote well, and give thought to who they vote for. And if people are forced to vote to avoid a fine, they might just vote for the first person on the list, or the person with the most interesting name. Or since they are not committed to the mechanisms of Democracy, they might be susceptible to propaganda.
My perspective on that is that these people are going to vote whether it’s compulsory or not. If we’re talking nutters, I cannot imagine one more nutty or farther right than the current US President. His fans have bought into every conspiracy theory and secret Russian propaganda AI influence and every scare-tactic there is, and voluntarily went to the polls and elected him. More of them went to the polls than us. Twice. If we had compulsory voting, more reasonable people out there may have voted for a more reasonable candidate? So in the only government election system I have any knowledge of, the United States has elected both brilliant people and total whack jobs, using a system of voluntary voting.