Election

 Well, I guess I'm ready to vote.  Most of my choices were settled months ago, but there were some local elections and ballot questions to research.  Yeah, I even look up Judges and School Board Members...

The Judges are just "retain or not",  I was pleased to find that the 3 current ones had excellent credentials and experience and were on the defense side in the past.  I'd rather have a guilty person get off once than an innocent person imprisoned.

The School Board election was easy enough.  Maryland has 4 year terms.  The one at-large is elected in presidential years, and all the other in the mid-cycle elections.  This was an at-large election, so it was easier.  One had experience, emphasized science and teacher-training, and suggests "slow-retirement of teachers so they can mentor the new ones.  The other (as far as I can tell) manages a day care center.  Nothing wrong with that, but apparently has little actual school-management experience.

That left the 2 ballot questions.  One was for encoding women's reproductive care into the State Constitution.  I'm going for that without any hesitation.

The other was more complicated.  All about changing the County Government.  The choices were the current form ("home rule"), and a  "charter" form with more county-wide consolidation of organization.  I visited 3 sites discussing them and still couldn't really understand the consequences.  But 1 site showed a map of the State counties showing which each had.  The 3 counties I think are best-run all had the "charter type".  The 3 most conservative (and kind of "run-down") counties all had the "home rule" system.  So I'm going with "charter".   Might as well advance with the times and what seems to work best...

Internet Ads

 I laugh at internet ads.  I know, I know, that's how the service providers stay in business.  TV works the same way.  

But I clicked on enough ads of things that I would never buy (women's clothes, shoes, weird gadgets), so I never get tempted.  And those are the only ads I get now.  LOL!

It is my way of deceiving the advertisers...  They play their games, I play mine.  

If I want to actually want to buy something, I research it in Consumer Reports or some neutral expert site first.  😛

Primary Election Day

Today is Primary Election Day in Maryland.  I had a sample ballot.  The top decisions were easy, but who knows anything about School Board or County Commissioners?  I couldn't name a one.

I'm analytical.  I want information.  The League Of Women Voters used to send out letters where all the candidates could describe themselves in a few paragraphs but apparently that was stopped by one of those Supreme Court decisions saying "information was sort of unfair".

I found their website last week, though.  They can still ask candidates to talk about their qualifications.  I went through every candidate down to the least of offices and marked my choices on my sample ballot.  

I did my homework.  Some candidates immediately disqualified themselves (in my personal view).  Too weird, too unqualified, too fanatical.  Sometimes, it is good to just get the crazies off your list and hope for the best among the rest.

At least I go to the voting booth knowing not only "who" but "why" I am voting for particular people.  I wish more people did.  And in a Primary Election...