My ballot goes to Yakima, WA, scanned and emailed. TBH I don't have as much interest in anything down ballot and don't follow the state and local enough to make an informed choice. But I cherish being able to vote and if Demoracy fails it won't be my fault.
And Dan: My Deadline looms. I'll share my first Stack with you by 15 October. Let the vein opening commence. 🙂✊🙌
Washington lets you email??? I've had to mail the hard copies my whole red-state life. I suppose the most honest thing to do would be to leave the down ballot stuff blank (except I I'm always a yes on school bonds). But you should also make a difference wherever you can.
Go go go! Perfection is the enemy of the finished. Write on, my friend!!
Love this post Dan. Coming to NZ as soon as the in-laws leave... March or April I think. And thanks for taking the time and effort to RSVP. We need them all.
Hi John! Thanks for reading! Fingers crossed the RSVP works...That's great you're coming down, can't wait to properly meet ya. We'll come over the hill and see you in Welly, or come see us in the Wairarapa!
It definitely feels strange to tick the "other" box.
In presidential elections, I do vote; the outcome is felt globally, and as a citizen, my interest is pretty clear. I'm more conflicted about whether to vote in downballot races. Do I really have any business voting for county commissioner of a county I lived in for less than two years and hope never to set foot in again? Of course I will always prefer to have someone in power who shares my politics, but why should my preference matter?
My non-American husband always fights me on this-- he feels if it's legal then it's fine, and in fact local elections are low turnout so it's more important than ever to vote-- but it bothers me. If I moved from Nebraska to Arkansas, I should clearly not be voting in Nebraska elections anymore. Is it different if I move from Nebraska to Newfoundland?
YES. Thanks for your comment--I feel this exactly. We carry on with the letter of the law, and I think that's fine? To start testing who is more purely 'Nebraskan' or whatever is precisley the sort of blood-and-soil evil I will always vote against. And yet. There's a *spirit* of the law in here some where, informed citizenry voting for to shape the place it actually lives...It can feel a little like cheating to mail the ballot year after after with coming back. But maybe some of us are just too sensitive about this? I suspect your husband's utilitarianism is the best play in the end. It's a crazy, mixed-up world, so we should vote like hell wherever we can...
For me with feet on U.S. soil, I feel the same ambivalence…I want to do my duty but what is its meaning? Not too much in Indiana. But I can make a difference in my very local government.
Ah, the red state lament! You're right, though--local government is huge, and every vote counts. Which is, I suppose, why my long-term overseas ballot feels a little bit disingenous. I want good people on the Hospital Board! I just live 8,000 miles from the hospital :)
My ballot goes to Yakima, WA, scanned and emailed. TBH I don't have as much interest in anything down ballot and don't follow the state and local enough to make an informed choice. But I cherish being able to vote and if Demoracy fails it won't be my fault.
And Dan: My Deadline looms. I'll share my first Stack with you by 15 October. Let the vein opening commence. 🙂✊🙌
Washington lets you email??? I've had to mail the hard copies my whole red-state life. I suppose the most honest thing to do would be to leave the down ballot stuff blank (except I I'm always a yes on school bonds). But you should also make a difference wherever you can.
Go go go! Perfection is the enemy of the finished. Write on, my friend!!
Love this post Dan. Coming to NZ as soon as the in-laws leave... March or April I think. And thanks for taking the time and effort to RSVP. We need them all.
Hi John! Thanks for reading! Fingers crossed the RSVP works...That's great you're coming down, can't wait to properly meet ya. We'll come over the hill and see you in Welly, or come see us in the Wairarapa!
It definitely feels strange to tick the "other" box.
In presidential elections, I do vote; the outcome is felt globally, and as a citizen, my interest is pretty clear. I'm more conflicted about whether to vote in downballot races. Do I really have any business voting for county commissioner of a county I lived in for less than two years and hope never to set foot in again? Of course I will always prefer to have someone in power who shares my politics, but why should my preference matter?
My non-American husband always fights me on this-- he feels if it's legal then it's fine, and in fact local elections are low turnout so it's more important than ever to vote-- but it bothers me. If I moved from Nebraska to Arkansas, I should clearly not be voting in Nebraska elections anymore. Is it different if I move from Nebraska to Newfoundland?
YES. Thanks for your comment--I feel this exactly. We carry on with the letter of the law, and I think that's fine? To start testing who is more purely 'Nebraskan' or whatever is precisley the sort of blood-and-soil evil I will always vote against. And yet. There's a *spirit* of the law in here some where, informed citizenry voting for to shape the place it actually lives...It can feel a little like cheating to mail the ballot year after after with coming back. But maybe some of us are just too sensitive about this? I suspect your husband's utilitarianism is the best play in the end. It's a crazy, mixed-up world, so we should vote like hell wherever we can...
For me with feet on U.S. soil, I feel the same ambivalence…I want to do my duty but what is its meaning? Not too much in Indiana. But I can make a difference in my very local government.
Ah, the red state lament! You're right, though--local government is huge, and every vote counts. Which is, I suppose, why my long-term overseas ballot feels a little bit disingenous. I want good people on the Hospital Board! I just live 8,000 miles from the hospital :)
Thanks for voting Dan, hopefully you get to do it all again soon