Who knew we were having an election May 15, until the ballots showed up in the mail a week or two ago? Not me, even though I follow at least four local newspapers plus a local blog or two. Odds are you didn't know about this election either.
Unless you happen to know one of the candidates, the Voter's Pamphlet is probably the only thing you have to go on. (That is, if you care to vote at all. More on that later.)
This is lousy. First, you can't always tell from the Voters Pamphlet if there are controversial issues on which the candidates differ. Second, after eliminating candidates who can't even write a decent statement, you can't tell which candidate has more ability to get things done. For example, an incumbent can usually write a decent statement. But a given incumbent might turn out to be a knave who isn't even on speaking terms with anyone else on the commission. Or a laughing stock. Or whatever. No way to know! Endorsements are only somewhat helpful.
In this day and age, there just has to be a way to inform people about upcoming elections. First of all, the media (TV and print) should be held responsible for reporting them. Second, why not offer a way to get elections information via the Internet?
Everybody pitches and moans about low voter turnout. Well, what do they expect?
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