#like wow. that is a level of trust unfathomable to me. i don't assume any of my friends perfectly share my priorities lol | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

coquelicoq · 13 days ago

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i have to wonder if no one feels the need to explain any of this shit to voters* because people tend to just follow whatever is endorsed by a person or group they trust. i've now had two separate people tell me they're just going to vote in the local elections how someone they know is voting because they don't understand/have time to figure out all the measures and candidates. which on the one hand i get, because there are so many of them. and i too look up recommendations from bodies that seem to align with my values and priorities and take them into account. but like, i do ultimately want to make my own decision and it's frustrating when i don't know how to get the information necessary to properly educate myself. i don't have time to get a degree in civics over here (which ultimately probably wouldn't even help lol).

*i'm being kind of unfair. they do explain quite a bit to voters. this year they sent two entire voters' pamphlets, one for the state and one for the local elections. it's just that the stuff they tell me in there is not all the stuff i want to know lol.

#one of my friends was like 'yeah i just pick one of my friends and then ask how they voted and that's how i vote'#like wow. that is a level of trust unfathomable to me. i don't assume any of my friends perfectly share my priorities lol #i don't believe any individual friend of mine is more qualified than i am to figure out every single thing on the ballot #someone could be more qualified than me in one particular area and if so i might ask for their thoughts. but to just do whatever #they're doing without question? that's not for me i guess #right now i'm looking at this city measure that seems like a good idea #to enshrine the independent elections commission in the charter so it's not subject to the whims of elected officials #who have a conflict of interest because they are directly affected by whatever the commission decides #but. the city council still picks who's on the commission. so how different is it really?#and how often do they pick? how long do people serve on the commission? that's not explained #i'm leery of putting stuff in the charter...like the COI problem is a big deal but i don't really see that this solves that problem?#a bunch of the other city measures this year are about removing language from the charter #it's a big deal to amend the charter! as it should be. you have to take it to a vote every time #idk i think i might skip this one and come back to it

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