Just a quick note on the eve of election day... voting here rules. Less interesting than the political races (seriously, I don't think a majority shift in Congress is news at this point, let alone just a "possibility"), is the process in how we vote here. It's all by mail.
The first vote we had here, I was crushed that I didn't get to go to a polling place. It seemed crazy! But the thing is, it's vastly superior to any voting I ever did in Ohio. About a month or so before the election, you get a package in the mail with your ballot, and a double envelope to stuff it in after you've filled it out. You also get two newsprint booklets, one for the state, and one for the county, that explains in detail what every issue is, and what it does, in plain English. It gives you so much more context than you ever get from the paragraph typically found on a ballot. The issues also have statements for and against, with rebuttals. You can make really informed choices. The candidates also have a chance to say what they're about, though few actually say anything about where they stand on issues, so you'll have to go to their Web sites if you want to go deeper.
It's a much better way to vote, because of the context and detail you have at your disposal. You can take your time to read up on each item, and then cast your vote. This was a big year for a lot of important issues in Washington, and I feel like people will make good choices.
The state isn't perfect, mind you. For certain offices, the primaries simply take the top two vote getters and they move on to the general election. So you could in theory have two candidates from the same party. I don't really have a problem with that, but how often does the "winner" in the primary not win the actual election? If it doesn't happen, then it seems like a waste of money to have a primary at all. For once, I'm actually OK with partisan primaries. I think they've only been doing it two years, so who knows.
I still miss geting an "I voted today" sticker. :)
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