I got my ballot in the mail today

[bhikkhu]

Voted straight party line.

On ballot measures I have to say I voted against almost all of them, as well as bond measures.

[classof56]

1. Way to go!

Didn't receive my ballot yet over here East of the Cascades, but tomorrow should be the day. Will follow suit with you and vote straight Dem line, same with the ballot measures, most of which I hope go down in flames. Wish the same would happen to Sizemore and McIntire, but I'm sure they'll live to "fight" another day.

Just noted the Oregonian endorsed Obama. WOO HOO! The Bend Bulletin, however, endorsed McCain. Cancelling my subscription tomorrow. Fi on them!

Obama/Biden '08

[dhpgetsit]

2. Yes!

Undecided on 54 and 55.
I'm going to support 56.
All the rest are No.

[bhikkhu]

3. I guess my only problem with 56 is based on an old memory

and it may be faulty...but I seem to recall the law that 56 does away with - the requirement of an absolute majority of voters to pass a spending measure - came about for a very good reason. I recall hearing about poorly explained spending measures being passed without fanfare, in poorly organized and poorly attended elections. In effect, by putting up a spending measure in an off-season local election, the less that people know or care about it the fewer people have to actually vote for it. This encouraged some very counter-productive under the table type of politics, and the law that 56 reverses was designed to do the opposite - if you want a spending measure passed you had better work to get out the vote and make sure everybody knows and cares about the measure. Its harder, but that's democracy.

[LWolf]

4. Me, too.

Got the ballot on Saturday, voted Sunday, will mail it today on my way out.

Almost all my ballot initiatives and bond measures were "no" as well. I skipped voting for people who had no one running against them, and no campaign to speak of. If I couldn't find info about them (and I did try,) I didn't vote for them.

It feels good to have it all done. Now for the waiting.

:hi:

[bkkyosemite]

6. I'm sitting here with my ballot right now. I don't know any thing about some of these people like:

(I live in Central Point bordering Medford moved here in June) the Mayor and only the one pick. Judges for state, council member, soil and water conservation, county, labor, non-partisan (how can they be that) I will not vote for any of these because these people I know nothing about.

[LWolf]

7. I read statements, when there were any to be had.

In most cases, there weren't. I googled them. If I could find a record of something that I was okay with, I voted for them. If I couldn't, I didn't.

I live outside city limits, so I didn't have the mayor or city council members on my ballot, but there were plenty of "non-partisan" offices.

Interestingly, last week I googled several of the people running for state offices that ARE partisan. Why?

They are carefully not identifying party in signs or ads running locally, and while some of them are easy to spot, many of them are floating messages so generalized that they could fit ANY ideology.

[ScottytheRadical]

5. The first two ballot measures, 54 and 55, are just housekeeping...

And I can't really see anything controversial in voting for them. I mean, the de jure legal voting age *is* 18 anyway for school board elections :P.

And you're opposing all the bond measures? Seriously? Don't you think we need to support Portland Community College (err..if you're in Portland?) And the Children's Levy?

[bhikkhu]

8. Southern Oregon...who has money?

I suppose all the bond measures could be justified, but we are still paying on so many...looking at the property taxes is just a long list of one little thing after another that all adds up to a big bill. Perhaps in two years it will be a better time to spend, but not now.