Ingrid, I was an observer for a recount in 2018 (when DeSantis narrowly won). I learned a lot, and one thing I learned was that ballots cast for anyone who is not a qualified candidate (filed and either paid the filing fees or got a sufficient number of petitions and filed the required financial reports), such as many write-ins, are not …
Ingrid, I was an observer for a recount in 2018 (when DeSantis narrowly won). I learned a lot, and one thing I learned was that ballots cast for anyone who is not a qualified candidate (filed and either paid the filing fees or got a sufficient number of petitions and filed the required financial reports), such as many write-ins, are not counted, but each one must be adjudicated by the Election Board, wasting the time of those officials, the elections staff, and the observers.
Also there are usually a number of things worth voting on besides the top of the ticket. Local judges, for example. Long ago I voted for Ross Perot thinking I was sending a protest message, but later came to the conclusion that due to our two party system we will always be presented with just two viable choices that can and will win. All the other candidates are just noise. If you decline to vote for at least the better of the two choices we always get, and if you vote for or write in a third party that has no realistic hope of winning, you don't really send a message to anyone at all, none of them care how you vote. However, you do let others choose FOR you.
I will have to look who else is up for election. There might be other items. Like the still not applied law that should stop the time change spring-fall. That was voted 2 years ago, a fair amount of the people want it stopped. But obviously, our 'representatives' find it a futile thing and have much better on hand - pocket filling I suppose.
Ingrid, I was an observer for a recount in 2018 (when DeSantis narrowly won). I learned a lot, and one thing I learned was that ballots cast for anyone who is not a qualified candidate (filed and either paid the filing fees or got a sufficient number of petitions and filed the required financial reports), such as many write-ins, are not counted, but each one must be adjudicated by the Election Board, wasting the time of those officials, the elections staff, and the observers.
My state and several others do not allow write-in votes. Automatically ruins the ballot and disqualified it.
Also there are usually a number of things worth voting on besides the top of the ticket. Local judges, for example. Long ago I voted for Ross Perot thinking I was sending a protest message, but later came to the conclusion that due to our two party system we will always be presented with just two viable choices that can and will win. All the other candidates are just noise. If you decline to vote for at least the better of the two choices we always get, and if you vote for or write in a third party that has no realistic hope of winning, you don't really send a message to anyone at all, none of them care how you vote. However, you do let others choose FOR you.
I did not know any of this. Thank you for sharing.
thank you. Thanks to Fred Bennett as well. I will save myself the time of going to vote for someone I absolutely do not want to be president, then
But, Ingrid, there will be lots of other candidates and issues on the ballot! Don't stay home because of the presidential race alone!
I will have to look who else is up for election. There might be other items. Like the still not applied law that should stop the time change spring-fall. That was voted 2 years ago, a fair amount of the people want it stopped. But obviously, our 'representatives' find it a futile thing and have much better on hand - pocket filling I suppose.