By the time I got home from work, I had convinced myself not to vote. For one thing, I haven’t been following local politics lately. It bores me to death. For another, I don’t know what is going on with the Democratic party. The Republicans are what everyone expects Republicans to be, have moved in the direction of conservative. But the Democrats have moved in the general direction of blah. It makes me want to fast forward to the point in time when they have their act together. Thinking through all of this, I decided that I simply didn’t care enough to vote, nor was I well-informed enough to do so.
Plus, by time time I got home, I had only 20 minutes before the Yankees game started.
Having decided not to vote, I dropped my stuff off in the house, and jogged up to the polling place. On the way there, I told myself I’d only vote in those categories that I knew something about the candidates. The school was littered with campaign signs, they grew like weeds. I have pictures but haven’t had a chance to upload them yet. Once inside, I went through the line and eventually wound up at a voting machine.
Governor: Martin O’Mally
Council Exec: Jack Johnson
Council Seat for district 103: Eric C. Olson
I didn’t vote in any other category. I didn’t vote for Comptroller, Attorney General, Senate, Board of Education, and various council positions where I recognized no names at all. It was my worst vote ever in terms of how little I was able to make an informed decision.
I wonder how many people, in not recognizing names on the ballot, pick one randomly? I wonder how many elections have been won due to the random selection of names on ballots where people didn’t know any better?
I suppose it worked out for the best. I don’t feel as guilty as I might have if I didn’t vote at all. (On the other hand, I don’t feel too hopeful either.) And the Yankees had a 9 run first inning, Matsui has gone 4-for-4 so far, and they are winning 12-0 in the top of the 7th. So I think it’s safe for me to head off to bed without worry.