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We're not far away from Election Day and there's one topic I must discuss that can have an effect on us all: voting.I am not going to harangue you to exercise your constitutional right and vote. Nope. Not me.
Instead I am going to ask you to think about the upcoming elections in your/town/city/state, about the candidates running for office, and to ponder any ballot initiatives that may also be on the ballot. Then after taking all of those things into account I want you to consider a drastic action: Don't vote.
“But....but, but why?” you may ask.
It's simple, really. It's not that I think you should boycott election day. I don't.
It's not that I think it's a waste of time. It isn't.
It's not that I think you don't have the right to vote. I believe you do.
It's that far too many voters don't have a friggin' clue about who or what they're voting for or against. They don't know the candidates running, particularly for city, county, or state offices. They don't know anything about the various ballot initiatives that may be on the ballot and a few moments pondering them in the voting both can't possibly impart any knowledge about the pluses or minuses about them or any of the unintended consequences of such initiatives. They go in blind, vote, and feel better about themselves for a few minutes before moving on with their lives. They have little idea what or who they've voted for and then they're surprised when the candidate they elected hoses the electorate or the initiative they voted on has consequences that cause problems far beyond its intentions.
What it comes down to is ignorant voters cause havoc far beyond anything anyone could possibly imagine. People we wouldn't otherwise trust end up in office and then screw things up. Ballot initiatives cause problems or costs money that wasn't allocated or boosts taxes in unexpected ways.
It comes down to this: If you don't know who to vote for, then don't for anyone. If you don't know how you should vote on a ballot initiative because you don't know about the issue, then don't vote on it either way. If there's only one race you're interested in or you know who you want to vote for , and more importantly why, then vote for that person. Otherwise leave the rest of the ballot blank. There's no law that says you have to cast a vote for every office or ballot initiative.
When Election Day arrives and you haven't followed the campaigns of anyone running for office or don't have a clue about any of the ballot initiatives, then I must make this appeal to you: Please don't vote. You're not doing yourself or anyone else any favors and you'll just screw it up for everyone else.