In Colorado I was on the permanent mail-in ballot list. Several weeks before election day, I would receive my ballot in the mail without having to do anything special for it, then peruse it at my leisure and mail it back, no muss, no fuss.
Technically, they have mail-in ballots in Texas. But only if you are disabled or elderly, basically. I am thankful to not currently be either of those.
In Colorado, the other annual pre-voting day ritual I enjoyed was receiving the state blue book. This lovely pamphlet translates all the proposed amendments into plain English, provides a dry for and against argument for each, and also estimates fiscal impacts. It also told you if judges were recommended for retention. I loved that little blue book and its cheap newsprint paper.
As far as I can tell, Texas doesn’t have those either. I had no idea how spoiled I was, growing up in Colorado.
Of course, I’m still lucky and spoiled here in Texas, to the extent that (supposedly) I’m not going to have any problems with the new voter ID law. I have multiple forms of approved IDs and I didn’t change my name when I got married (not that I did that in Texas anyway). But a lot of people aren’t nearly so lucky as me. It just makes me furious whenever anyone makes it harder to vote.
Anyway, I’ll attempt to find the actual physical voting place either during lunch or after work. I hope it’s right, since I looked it up in the Harris county website. You’re supposed to get the info from http://votetexas.gov but that site has been timing out all morning so…yay?
Enjoy your little blue books and your mail-in ballots, Colorado. Throw the pages of non-partisan explanations of legalese up in the air and laugh mockingly as they flutter down around you. You have no idea how good you’ve got it.
(I am well aware there are many places in the rest of the world where people are literally dying to only be as inconvenienced as I will be today. I wish they had our problems in place of their own, I truly do.)
7 replies on “Reason number five million why I miss Colorado (special voting edition)”
Of course Texas would rather you didn’t vote. You’re a woman and while you enjoy your tea, it doesn’t come with a party.
Mailed in my ballot a week ago when I got my voter book (it’s not blue though) and a little postcard from the ‘democratic party’ recommending how the ‘party’ would like me to vote. ^^
Hmmm, I haven’t even gotten anything from the democrats in Texas. Maybe they’re all in hiding? I’ve gotten two phone calls from the democrats in Colorado though!
I don’t know what I’d do without my blue book or mail in ballot; that would be awful! (Although admittedly, Longmont’s ballot is really boring, as every candidate’s platform is: “Fix flood damage and argue about the mall.”)
Yeah, I’m trying to read the text for the ballot measures and I just… I don’t even know. Come on, Texas. >.<
It certainly does seem as though Texas wants to make it as difficult to vote as possible. Are they interesting ballot measures, at least?
We just got a letter that they didn’t count Aki’s ballot, which they do every year.
Honestly, they’re all pretty boring. The only reason Mike and I ended up voting was that there was no line so we were in and out. The most interesting one was maybe a bond issue that would decide if the Astrodome would be redeveloped or demolished… sounds like it’s going to get demolished. Oh, and there was something to do with water rights that a lot of people were really excited about, but I didn’t quite get what was going on with it.
Ugh, FFS that’s ridiculous.