Not too late to vote early
Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert wasn't showing off those cute jammies just to be funny. That TV commercial is a sign of how desperate he and other state and county election officials in Utah are to get people to take advantage of the various early voting opportunities around the state.
The Diebold touch-screen voting machines are new and will present voters with a learning curve, even those who are accustomed to dealing with computers. And, because they are so expensive, there are a lot less of them available than the old punch-card machines or whatever else was being used in your town.
Can they be hacked? Probably. But, unlike some other states, Utah has wisely equipped all of its machines with a paper tape backup that can be used to conduct any necessary recounts. Be sure to read yours to be sure it says what you wanted it to say.
Early voting is going on in county clerks' offices around the state and in satellite locations in many counties. Here's the official list.
As The Tribune said in today's editorial, "Not a year off," the fact that this is an off-year election is no excuse not to vote. There are many important decisions to be made, from the Congress to the Utah Legislature to county and school board offices. And, in Salt Lake, Utah and Summit counties, important local questions that aren't going to be overwhelmed by votes from anywhere else.
--George Pyle
The Diebold touch-screen voting machines are new and will present voters with a learning curve, even those who are accustomed to dealing with computers. And, because they are so expensive, there are a lot less of them available than the old punch-card machines or whatever else was being used in your town.
Can they be hacked? Probably. But, unlike some other states, Utah has wisely equipped all of its machines with a paper tape backup that can be used to conduct any necessary recounts. Be sure to read yours to be sure it says what you wanted it to say.
Early voting is going on in county clerks' offices around the state and in satellite locations in many counties. Here's the official list.
As The Tribune said in today's editorial, "Not a year off," the fact that this is an off-year election is no excuse not to vote. There are many important decisions to be made, from the Congress to the Utah Legislature to county and school board offices. And, in Salt Lake, Utah and Summit counties, important local questions that aren't going to be overwhelmed by votes from anywhere else.
--George Pyle
7 Comments:
Question? Why should I vote in Utah? I don't plan to.
I vote for Democrats. That immediately makes my vote worthless in just about every race. The sheep in this politically naive state vote for their Republican Mormon brothers, which means my vote is drowned in a sea of brotherly love. It doesn't matter if the Republican candidates are incompetent. They'll generally be voted into office, especially after the Tribune thoughtlessly and shamelessly endorses them.
It's a religious/Republican thing.
And, in my 2nd district, Matheson certainly doesn't represent me or my party.
My vote and those of all Democrats in Utah and those of other parties are votes carried off to nowhere.
Again, why should I vote?
Mr. Pyle: The first "to" in your headline should be "too".
Why vote?
If you are in Salt Lake County, Proposition 3. Money for TRAX, FrontRunner and, probably, Mountain View highway.
If you are in Utah County, the transit sales tax.
In Summit County, the change of government question.
Fer 'em or agin 'em, it matters. These are not partisan matters, and your vote is not so likely to be overwhelmed by folks elsewhere.
Oh, and thanks for the proofreading.
- George Pyle
I feel the same way as executor, although I will brave the lines on Tuesday and vote for Democratic candidates (except certainly not for Matheson; as Dear Leader Bush said, in his wisdom: "...fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." But with the TRIB rolling over because they got that call from Dean-o again, and endorsing Hatch, a self-interested hack if there ever was one--not to mention refusing to endorse Scott McCoy because he's, well, one of "them," don't you know--it does get pretty discouraging to vote here and know your vote will be lost in an partisan outpouring of SPESH-uhl Mormon love for a bunch of right wingers whose only qualification is that they wear the right kind of underwear and can shout warnings about GAYS! and ABORTION! at the top of their lungs. As for Prop 3, I'm about ready to vote against it, just to be contrary and because the Lege has been playing patty-cake with the list of projects; makes me think they are going to steal the money, just like they recently did with their "tax cut," and spend it on the Jon Huntsman 12-lane FreeWay, which will by coincidence run right past a bunch of land owned by Brother Mansell.
Sheesh, what a bunch of self-righteous crooks; I've just about talked myself out of it, now.
I'm in Salt Lake County and none of those issues interest me. Whichever way they go, I can live with the results.
I'm fed up with editorial writers and others who proclaim that 'you must get out and vote no matter how you vote, just vote.' Why? It makes no sense. The better cliche' should be "get involved, know the issues, study them, know all sides then, if you feel you must, cast a ballot."
Not voting also says something. It shows a dissatisfaction or repugnance of the entire system. And I have an aversion to the system in Utah. In the ugly vernacular: it sucks.
I'm in favor of fewer people voting. If only the people who knew who or what they were voting for cast ballots, government would be significantly more effective and responsive. The reason we have bad government is because of mechanical voting based solely on party, name recognition, or a last-minute game of tic-tac-toe in the voting booth.
I can see why there's so little love for the Republican Party here. I'm a conservative and their arrogant attitude just cheeses me right off. I refuse to vote for LaVar Christensen because he's a partisan hack and seems to have some kind of high-minded "well, I'm the Republican, I don't need to campaign on issues" race going on. No thanks.
To some of the above comments: you're not going to win any points with those "sheep" if you denigrate their religion and talk down to them. What can that accomplish other than re-enforcing that they don't like lefties? It's that kind of angry left attitude that drives Mormons further into the Republican Party. Why should they join or even vote for a party whose members assail their religion?
Democrats don't assail the predominant religion in this state because most of them are "one".
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