For all the times I’ve editorialized about how everybody voting is a critical step towards keeping democracy, what I’m about to say may shock regular readers.
Don’t Vote.
Yet.
Fifteen million California voters have their ballots, and I suspect many of them will be making their voting decisions over the coming weekend.
Moving California’s primary up to Super Tuesday is supposed to give voters a larger role in deciding who will be the Democratic nominee for president. Given the crowded field of a dozen-plus candidates, early voting this year also increases the chances that YOUR vote may be irrelevant.
The muddled results of the Iowa caucuses and volatile polling in New Hampshire should be enough reason to hold off mailing your ballot.
Ballots must be postmarked by March 3 and will be accepted via mail through March 6, so waiting another 10 days or so is no big deal.
There are indications (mostly conjecture, but still noteworthy) that two major candidates, Andrew Yang and Joe Biden, may quit. Yang, who denies he’s quitting, disputes the significance of laying off senior staff. Biden is running low on money and suddenly pundits are remembering his dismal showing with voters in past runs for the top job.
Sixteen --count’em--sixteen serious (i.e., they had some national recognition) candidates have already quit the race. Six of them have quit so recently that they’re still on the ballot I received in the mail earlier this week.
In addition to the Presidential campaigns, we are also casting ballots for congressional, state legislative, County, City of San Diego, judicial and school board races. The top two vote-getters in those contests will appear on the ballot for the general election on Nov. 3. Voters will also be deciding on one statewide proposition and local ballot measures.
Please, please, please take your time to do your homework on local contests.
The City Councilperson you vote (or don’t vote) for in this election could be president some day. Your vote for a candidate (Ammar Campa-Najjar) in the the 50th Congressional District might be all that stands in the way of Carl DeMaio or Darrell Issa running for higher office someday.
Check out my coverage of local and statewide candidates here. The Indivisible San Diego Persist voter guide is here.
Next week I’ll publish a list of local organizational endorsements, voter guides, and my personal local voting choices.
If you didn’t get or don’t want a mail-in ballot, you should check your voter registration status here. The last day to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot is Feb. 25.
Finally, a thought about how to vote for people at the top of the ballot, i.e., President, Mayor, etc.
You’re not really voting for a person; you’re voting for an administration.
This is also true to a lesser degree with legislators and councilcritters. You don’t have to agree with Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez to understand that her staff is a big part of the reason she wins more often than she loses on big issues.
Voting for a candidate based on campaign promises is a wasted vote if they don’t have the ability to bring in the talent needed to get big ideas through the legislative sausage making process that come out as something other than corporate welfare. (In the days before YouTube we used to say this was having a big “rolodex.”)
Big pharma isn’t going to fire all its lobbyists if Bernie Sanders wins. Fox news isn’t going to turn over a new leaf if Elizabeth Warren wins.
Mike Bloomfield’s chances of getting real gun safety laws through the congress seem no better than any other candidate, until you factor in his relationships with all the people who successfully challenged the NRA on the state level.
As everybody should have learned by watching the impeachment process, real change is hard work. So yes, vote for the candidate who inspires you in the primary. Once that’s over for better or worse, support the candidate with the best chance of getting stuff you believe is important done.
Here’s a rap-style video explainer on just how important it is to look down the ballot. Don’t be fooled by the title, and be prepared to get energized.
https://youtu.be/wMALeR1i-FM
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Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com