An Opinion on Straight-Ticket Voting

[mrdreamjeans]

I voted last Friday, taking advantage of early voting here in Texas. I was pleased (and surprised) to see large numbers of folks at the courthouse doing the same. I'm in a town of 13,000 and two rooms were devoted to early voting, one for last names A-L and one for M-Z. There were spots for four people at a time to sit down and fill in paper ballots and one electronic machine that everyone avoided. One of the precinct workers said she thought people were scared of it; I said aloud that most people believe that an electronic vote can be altered and prefer a paper trail.

I take voting seriously. I've voted in every election since I was 18. I turned 18 the year that they changed the age from 21. My voting record has been all over the place, reflective of the amount of research I did on the issues and my knowledge of the candidates. I've gotten more independent over the years, more progressive, though I would stop short of calling myself a liberal. (Though my family would disagree:) The one thing I have never done is vote a straight ticket ... make that mark at the beginning of the ballot which makes reading the rest of the ballot irrelevant. There have been times where my choices have nearly been a straight ticket ... but I took the time... made the effort to mark a choice in each and every race.

I was all over the place with my vote this year. I voted for Democrat, Independent and Libertarian candidates and in a couple of local races where I know the candidates personally, two moderate Republicans. I was appalled at the number of uncontested slots, particularly in the judicial races, which in Texas are partisan. I'm curious ... when you see a race uncontested ... just one candidate on the ballot, do you automatically vote for them? Or if they aren't of your party affiliation, do you leave it blank? I debated with myself over that one. Regardless, I encourage everyone to vote. More than at any other time in my 34 years of voting, I believe we need major change from the status quo.

In other news ... After a tense weekend, my Mom's back surgery is scheduled for Wednesday morning. She will be in rehab in Bryan for three weeks. During that time, my brother and his wife will take Dad to their home. I will take care of this house and our dog Dixie and make daily trips to see Mom. The tense time was from being caught in the middle between my sister who believes that Dad would benefit from being in a care facility during that time and my brother (and especially his wife) who believe Dad should come with them. At least everyone understood that leaving me to take care of Dad alone would not work. Please say a prayer ... or your equivalent for my Mom tomorrow. Everything should be fine, but she's nearly 75 and I'll take all the support for her I can.