Subject: USA elections

-- Comments from my email friends and some insight into the ballot complexities....
Audrey

> I find it absolutely amazing that there is electronic voting happening where there is no recourse for recount if it is necessary.  I think this is in Florida.

>To me it smacks of possible illegal adjustments of figures.  No possibility of checking if it's 'one person, one vote'.

> I think Florida is using the electronic machines made by Diebold - I could be wrong there (where is Sonia when we need her?)  Those machines may not be used in California for the reason you mentioned.  There is no way to recheck votes should it be necessary.

>What is so hard with putting 2 or 3 names on a ballot with their picture beside the name and marking an X.  Sweet and simple.
 

I love the suggestion, Helen!  I have never seen a picture on a ballot here, and we never make X's:-))  We have to complete the lines between two points so the ballots can be machine read.

Part of the reason is that the ballots are usually quite long and it would take forever to tally them by human:-))  

Today we vote for:
National Offices
1. President
2. United States Senator (for California)
3. United Sates Representative (for California i.e. our wo/man in Congress)
State Offices
4. Member of the Sate Assembly (to represent our district)
County Offices
5. Board of Education member - area 4
6. Board of Education Member - area 6
7. Board of Education Member - area 7
I am not at all sure why we all vote for all these different areas, but we do.
8. Board of Harbor Commissioners (vote for no more than three)
Local Offices
9 Healthcare Member, Board of Directors. (vote for no more than two)

That is all the people wishing to be elected.  Then we have:
State Measures  
10. Proposition 1a
11. Proposition 59
12. Proposition 60
13. Proposition 60a
14. Proposition 61
15. Proposition 62
16. Proposition 63
17. Proposition 64
18. Proposition 65
19. Proposition 66
20. Proposition 67
21. Proposition 68
22. Proposition 69
23. Proposition 70
24. Proposition 71
25. Proposition 72
County Measures
26. Measure A
27. Measure B
28. Measure C
29. Measure D
30. Measure E
City Measures
31. Measure G
32. Measure H

It is quite a task!

Each county in the state will have different county measures, and each city in each county will have different city measures, so getting the ballots - and all the voter information packets ready is quite a challenge for the County Election Offices.

This ends the Civics lesson for today :-)))
Barbara

 

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