tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post1864794585681720871..comments2023-10-31T06:44:26.393-07:00Comments on Billings Blog: Wake me when it's overDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00372790238744903272noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post-79577990587586184782007-10-30T21:47:00.000-07:002007-10-30T21:47:00.000-07:00As a former candidate for office I can say with ce...As a former candidate for office I can say with certainty as I went door to door that the blue light emanating from the family rooms was the determining factor in elections. Attitudes at the door were parallel to the ads being run on TV. There was very damned little independent thinking going on, and I include my supporters in this. <BR/><BR/>The idea of informed voter is a myth - it's the way weAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post-42317834576849699482007-10-28T10:46:00.000-07:002007-10-28T10:46:00.000-07:00All this talk about "more informed voters" is simi...All this talk about "more informed voters" is similar to what comes out of the south end of a north bound bull. Most of those who tend to vote in some of the less popular elections, such as the city, county and school elections, are, from the results about as informed as that bull stuff. They have an ax to grind. They don't care about the issue but that their taxes are less or the person Chuck Rightmirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06985358507956039363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post-92059984176667537252007-10-28T09:16:00.000-07:002007-10-28T09:16:00.000-07:00If we designed our voting system now, would we rea...If we designed our voting system now, would we really decide to cram everyone into a school cafeteria on a weeknight? If you can't handle mail-in at least support extending voting time over three days, preferably a weekend.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, mail-in ballots might circumvent electronic voting machines, though not tabulators, which could still be rigged.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post-58387508225288104792007-10-27T14:39:00.000-07:002007-10-27T14:39:00.000-07:00Ed, I guess I should have painted my own picture, ...Ed, I guess I should have painted my own picture, rather than using one from pop culture. I used it because more people have seen that television episode than what I would describe.<BR/><BR/>For me, voting will always be going into the corner of our local rural schoolhouse when I was 5 years old and sitting on my dad's lap while he marked beside all of the "R's" (probably not always, but this isMontana Headlineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16149094528547382638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post-59241335784152435372007-10-26T14:44:00.000-07:002007-10-26T14:44:00.000-07:00At least when people actually have to get up and g...At least when people actually have to get up and go somewhere to vote (put SOME effort into it), there's the hope that they put some thought into it, too. With a mail-in ballot, not so much...Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06622350905746514412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post-74940263427934972572007-10-26T13:42:00.000-07:002007-10-26T13:42:00.000-07:00I don't buy this business about an apartment manag...I don't buy this business about an apartment manager or nursing home operator stealing a bunch of votes. You've got to sign the envelope the ballot is sealed in, and those signatures are checked against the ones on file at the courthouse. Even if you had access to the signatures, how many people can do even a half-decent forgery? And if one person who wanted to vote didn't get a ballot and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post-34466851592630124792007-10-26T10:04:00.000-07:002007-10-26T10:04:00.000-07:00What a bunch of grumps. I like the mail in idea. ...What a bunch of grumps. I like the mail in idea. I can sit in the privacy of my own home and cast my ballot instead of having to go to the polls, walk in and waste my time waiting in line while other people try to find my name on the pollings lists and get me to sign that I am Me. The only thing easier would be to enable us to vote by mail or to do it on a website. That's probably coming if Chuck Rightmirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06985358507956039363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post-68734012366044513392007-10-25T20:24:00.000-07:002007-10-25T20:24:00.000-07:00Where's the special pencil?Where's the special pencil?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post-84926078009134843982007-10-25T20:16:00.000-07:002007-10-25T20:16:00.000-07:00Preach, brother! Amen! It's not enough that mail b...Preach, brother! Amen! It's not enough that mail ballots increase turnout. It's not even enough that mail ballots are cheaper and easier for county governments. It's not right for the Government to change the very foundation of democracy just to make life more convenient for the rulers. That is not democracy. Democracy is about what works for the people, not the government.Forty Sevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16672455771569048817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post-24947786268126179552007-10-25T17:42:00.000-07:002007-10-25T17:42:00.000-07:00I'm with you on this one. When I go out to vote, ...I'm with you on this one. When I go out to vote, I'm reminded of that great scene in "Northern Exposure" where Cicely, Alaska is having its first mayoral election in a long time.<BR/><BR/>To the sounds of Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring," (if I recall correctly,) there is a prolonged scene of the whole town turning out to vote -- a community civic ritual that in an unspoken way plays a role Montana Headlineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16149094528547382638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post-26232644540582423432007-10-25T15:59:00.000-07:002007-10-25T15:59:00.000-07:00Well put. Those lacking transportation already ca...Well put. Those lacking transportation already can get automatic absentee ballots. Oddly, the election "reforms" passed in reaction to the Folordia ascam that gave us Bush II meant that election judges had to ask for ID even from their nexxt-door- neighbors to prevent election "fraud." Now a nursing-home operator or apartment manager could effectively vote a block for a particular candidate orAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post-59479863758991339832007-10-25T14:02:00.000-07:002007-10-25T14:02:00.000-07:00David: I'd probably agree with you in regard to a ...David: I'd probably agree with you in regard to a "real" election, but in off years like this, when there is one City Council race on each ballot, and one small item from the school district, driving a few blocks to the polling booth might be seen as not worth the trouble. And what if you're in Ward 5, with no one running against the incumbent council member? I guess I'd still like to know how Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506451.post-72028850167861641462007-10-24T20:55:00.000-07:002007-10-24T20:55:00.000-07:00Yeah. Me too.Yeah. Me too.pj finnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04555752817170618293noreply@blogger.com