For the first time in my life, I have voted for a candidate who actually won an election. My vote has long been the kiss of death, usually due to my penchant to vote against incumbents. But my personal favorite losing vote is when I voted for a teacher running for the Board of Education. not only did she not win, she was fired from her job for being critical of the Board of Ed. I really considered stopping voting all together with that one.
But I dutifully filled out my absentee ballot this year, and shock of all shocks, the candidates I voted for actually won. I actually felt good about my vote in the US Senate, as both candidates in Maryland were good and decent men who would have represented the state well. Usually, I choose between the lesser of two evils, this time I felt like I was choosing between the greater of two goods. Which was an odd feeling.
Also, one of my classmates from high school won his election for County Executive, which is pretty cool (yes, I voted for him too; when you're on a roll, you're on a roll). I don't think I'm moving back to Maryland, so this is probably the last time I will vote in an election in the Free State. And after ten years of trying, I finally got to back a winning horse.
4 comments:
Welcome to Texas Voting:
If you've ever heard the oft-repeated saying that "your vote doesn't count," then Texas is the closest thing to TRUE that that statement will ever get. The current gubernatorial election exemplifies this perfectly.
Voter turn out was High. Higher than it is has been for midterm elections in a long while. This means that more people than usual had the motivation to perform their civic duty. However, the election was called before it began.
About 3 weeks ago I read in every major newspaper that the incumbent was expected to win by a solid margin, and that the true wildcard in the race was whether Kinky Friedman would reach 15% of the votes. In addition, Rueters said that Senator Hutchison would "float her way into another term." This also turned out to be right on point.
Given that I know that the media is less than psychic, Texas voting would seem to be a bit certain. However, Texas is not lost.
Since Poseur is no longer going to be voting in his former state of Maryland (he is also one of the few people that I knows already knows what I'm about to say) I thought I might welcome him to the greatest state in the union.
The secret to voting in a state where everything is bigger is to (incongruously*) think smaller. The National elections are almost always a sure thing so a voter might be disheartened if they but their heart into influencing the US Senate seat or the Governor of Texas. It will be a long time untill Texas gains the status of a "swing state" or a state where every individual vote is important (florida in 2000, virginia in 2006). However, the goods are all in the local elections. Get to know your local politicians.
If you want your vote to count in Texas, start with your city council-people, your texas legislature representatives, your local judges. These are the elections that are close, and the people running are often approachable, honest, regular people.
Your vote WILL count, and every vote is important. But I warn, voting a straight ticket is like showing up to class unprepared. You can at least say you went, but you SHOULD have been kicked out. Exception to those who accidently vote a straight ticket because they are informed about all the candidates and made an informed choice on each (that's like showing up to class over-prepared, and nobody likes a no-it-all either).
With this in mind....Happy Voting
Love,
Matt
*For the proper use of "ironically" vs. "incongruously" see the Fharfenblogger memo on the subject. I hope I didn't screw it up.
sorry
love,
matt
Took care of that double post for ya.
Thanks for the tips on Texas voting. Though it is discouraging to live in a state in which the elections are barely contested. I may actually have to learn the names of the local pols.
Mad props! You finally will get to regret your vote in a year.
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