OK, time to 'fess up.
This year, for the first time in I-don't-know-how-many-years, I didn't vote. No real excuse for it, since I was registered and everything. Not like I couldn't have taken the time out of the middle of my day.
But here's the thing - I was completely uninformed. I get no daily paper. My television news comes out of Columbus, so I knew there were some school board elections going on there, but that's not even the same county. I heard about no state-wide referenda, and nothing local. I'm not even entirely certain where my polling place is - I think they told me in the letter I got to confirm I was registered, but that was nearly four months ago. Yesterday, on election day, I saw one lone campaign sign - apparently our realtor ran for a village council seat. That's it though. I have no idea what was even on the ballot. I nearly forgot it even was election day until I spotted an "I voted" sticker in the post office.
I guess I've been spoiled by all those years of living in Montgomery County, where it was easier to stay current on the issues. Where each year, all registered voters got sample ballots in the mail, complete with polling locations and times. If you didn't know about a particular race, you could find the candidates on your sample ballot, and then look everyone up in the Post's voting guide. Funnily, both Joe and I got Montgomery County sample ballots this year - with mail forwarding, they arrived yesterday.
The whole process was just easier there, and it makes me wonder, is this typical? Is this why voter turnouts are so low in non-presidential election years? Is it just because nobody knows what's at stake?
posted by Alison @ 10:45 AM
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