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Tuesday Follies: Voting

29464280_sToday is mid term elections! Voting is a right and privilege that I do not take lightly. I spend plenty of time resourcing candidates, reading the propositions for and against and understanding who is endorsing the candidates and why. I decided years ago, that I would do my voting by mail. For me, it is easier! But, I do miss the lines and the interactions with the polling places. There is always something interesting that happens.

Today, in honor of election day, I felt like I would take a lighthearted approach to voting. Maybe these stories are a bit close to home. They are meant to laugh and learn…

Ever wonder how many people vote because of what they heard and saw on TV? How much many get all of their information from commercials that bad mouth the candidate? I did an experiment that with folks… I pulled up the candidates website information that centered on how they were going to represent us in government. Made sure that no information was available to share who was who. I asked them to read the information from both candidates and point to which one they felt best fit their views. I am here to say, that only 2 people out of 10 picked the candidate that they voted for. So, was it the ads that made them do it? Was it lack of information? Was it because they were told to vote for that candidate? I guess we will never really know.

Moral – make sure to really review the candidates completely. Never believe what is being told to you, unless you verify it yourself. 

The last time I was in-line to vote in person, I was lucky enough to be close to a person that thought it was okay for them to share their political views and thoughts with everyone in the line. He shared his opinion on everything. He was an excellent story teller and had stories for every candidate. He made you think you were right there in the middle of the story. He was getting people sucked in. The problem with his stories, were that he pretty much could tell who were the “good” and “bad” folks. I have to wonder if he changed a few folks minds with his stories. He was confronted by one of the polling supervisors, to please stop. Which he then showed the all american comeback – its a free country I can say anything I want to. He was then asked to cut in line and vote quietly!

Moral – make noise and you could cut in line.. Small talk in line should be anything and everything except politics. 

I have a few hopes for elections to come!

  • Most importantly, I am sick and tired of voting for the lesser of two evils. We should have on every ballot a choice of not voting for either one. We should be able to send the message back – that your choices were unacceptable – try again! It will be costly, but that cost can be picked up by the political parties. They spend enough already, maybe if they allocated their money better – we, the voter, wins.
  • The political parties will stop the negative ad campaigning… It is ugly and for the most part – spun information that is misleading. Talk up what actions you (or the person you endorse).
  • A spending cap is introduced. There is way too much money spent on getting a candidate into office. With big money comes a set of problems that make you wonder, “who is the candidate really working for?” Better yet – take 80% of what you were going to spend on campaigning and apply it to the national debt! Hell, I bet in no time we could get that debt to 0!
  • Term limits! Don’t get me started on the career politicians. We have some in office that have been there and are institutions. Like most food, there is a shelf life, we need to make it happen. I also think it is time for those political folks that job hop from one elected office to another. Because you were a state senator does not make you a superintendent of schools. Sometimes it is the name that gets elected not the best person qualified for the position.
  • 95% of all voters will take the time necessary to resource themselves. No more getting information from “The Daily Show” or “The Colbert Report” – the last time I checked they were comedies. Watching negative ad campaigning as a way to vote for a person is just flat out wrong. Go and read about the candidate. I know it takes time, but I will help you be an informed voter.

Remember I intended this post to be a laugh and learn. What are some of your funny stories on election day? What would you like to see in the future?

Image via – Copyright: nazlisart / 123RF Stock Photo

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