So Tuesday was general election day. I decided it was my civic duty as an American citizen to exercise my right to vote, so I searched the internet to find out what exactly I was voting for. It appeared to be an election for the state supreme court, so I read about each of the candidates to see if anything jumped out at me. I could find very little information on the actual election as well as what I was supposed to be voting for and even less information on the actual candidates. Then I find out that I need to pick a certain number of candidates for each group, and it just so happened that there were the same number of candidates running as needed to be picked making it somewhat superfluous to even vote. I debated internally whether it was worth the 5 minutes of my time to vote in an election that seemed bogus, and I decided that regardless of whether it was a lame election, I still needed to exercise my right. People suffered and fought long and hard to secure that right, and I openly mock their sacrifices when I do nothing. So the state supreme court is not that big of a deal and maybe my vote doesn't really count, but it was a matter of principle.
They (whoever they are) are always talking about the apathy of the American public in regards to voting. Perhaps we would be more interested in voting if we felt like our vote actually mattered and if there was easily accessible information on the candidates and issues. Mailing me an orange card with 5 languages on it just telling me where I need to vote doesn't help me. We need people to vote, but more than that we need people to make educated votes.
Perhaps I should start a website that focuses on elections, who the candidates are, what they have supported and opposed, bills they have proposed etc. There would be no editorial, just sheer facts. In time, it could grow to include all states. It would be a huge undertaking, but it would be a great way to keep people informed. Maybe there is already something like this, and I just don't know about it. If not, anyone interested in a business venture??? Let's vote on it...
They (whoever they are) are always talking about the apathy of the American public in regards to voting. Perhaps we would be more interested in voting if we felt like our vote actually mattered and if there was easily accessible information on the candidates and issues. Mailing me an orange card with 5 languages on it just telling me where I need to vote doesn't help me. We need people to vote, but more than that we need people to make educated votes.
Perhaps I should start a website that focuses on elections, who the candidates are, what they have supported and opposed, bills they have proposed etc. There would be no editorial, just sheer facts. In time, it could grow to include all states. It would be a huge undertaking, but it would be a great way to keep people informed. Maybe there is already something like this, and I just don't know about it. If not, anyone interested in a business venture??? Let's vote on it...
1 comment:
one of the problems is that not that many people vote. for both motivation and entertainment, i say they should fire a cannon every time someone votes. i am sure they could hook up the machines to one somehow. that way as soon as the vote goes in, the person would hear the cannon and think,"thats my sound, that vote made all the difference." and afterwords they can walk out and talk to their friends and say,"thats right, that sound you heard at whatever time was becouse of my vote. did you vote?" and they'll say "no, but now i sure want to!"
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