Necessary Roughness

I voted absentee today, out of the comfort of my own home. Normally I go to the county courthouse to vote absentee, but this time I sent off for a ballot. This is the way to vote in my opinion, because I can sit at my laptop to Google for issues and people that I'm not familiar with. Very good for local stuff.

My Libertarian friends may be proud that I did not vote a straight Republican ticket. I was disappointed that there were not more options for Ohio Senator and my district's Representative. I do not take kindly to Republicans-In-Name-Only feeding the sows of bureaucracy, but unless a Democrat is a Zell-Miller-type I can't see how they would do any better. I was also disappointed that more judges did not put out campaign literature. If you want my vote, work for it!

In my voting package there was a bright orange bulletin stating that Ralph Nader had been removed from the ballot, and that any votes for him would not be counted. Score one for Kerry's campaign lawyers. I got the book, the ballot, a couple of envelopes, and even a metal loop with an end sticking out so I could punch the card. Kudos to the election board for being so thorough.

There was only one real issue on my ballot: Ohio had a Constitutional Amendment for the sole recognition of one-man/one-woman marriage. Everything else was local: a beer license and six tax levies.