While people are dealing with flooding in the Pacific Northwest and cold weather in the Northeast, I had to put on sunscreen to vote. Now, given that I live in LA, you would expect that I would drive to the polls as they are more than two blocks from my house. But, parking near there is lousy, so I put on my sunscreen, sunglasses and my Reaganesque straw cowboy hat (needing to protect my fair skin from the California sun) and walked to my polling place. It’s in the 90s here.
It’s such a chore voting in California, given the number of offices up for election — as well as thirteen “State Measures.” I even voted for a Member of the West Basin Municipal Water District.
I actually had to “void” my first ballot because I accidently voted “Yes” on Proposition 87, a measure which would place a tax on state oil producers. The election officials were very cool about my error. They merely wrote “VOID” with what appeared to be a SHARPIE pen (or maybe a small magic marker) on my original ballot and gave me a new ballot. This time I was more careful with my ballot and double checked to make sure all the inked circles corresponded with those on the Sample Ballot I had filled out at home.
The election people reported heavy turnout at my precinct in eastern West Hollywood. Not sure what to make of that. My neighborhood is very Democratic, but has a number of Russian immigrants who do sometimes vote Republican. That may not necessarily be bad for Arnold. I talked to two friends this morning, one a Democrat and the otheer a Democrat-leaning Independent. Both had voted to give our good governor a second term.
Myself, I voted a third time for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the first time being in the recall in 2003, the second in the Republican primary earlier this year. It felt good to vote for the one-time action hero who has really succeeded in turning the Golden State around.
In the end, I voted straight Republican. I have been impressed with most of the candidates for the statewide offices, but have little stomach for our party’s nominee for the United States Senate. I had briefly considered voting for Democrat Dianne Feinstein because, while she has a very liberal voting record, she is a decent person and has worked with her Republican colleagues on a number of initiatives. I quite literally pinched my nose when I voted for Dick Mountjoy, electing him over the Libertarian alternative, seeing it more as a vote against Harry Reid than anything else.