Happy Disenfranchisement Day!
Well, I just voted. While I have to admit I still get a thrill from voting, it was diminished this year by 2 major factors: 1) as a resident of DC I have no federal representation, and 2) I no longer have any faith in the accuracy of the voting process in this country.
With regards to the first matter, I and a half million other people have to deal with the reality of taxation without representation even as we shoulder a heavier tax burden than the rest of the country (and deplete our city resources to pay for security for other states' elected representatives). I wonder what would happen if the US proposed that residents of Baghdad not be allowed to have a voice in Iraq's parliament? Additionally, since DC is a largely Democratic place, the mayoral election is effectively decided in the primary and not in today's election. Because I don't wish to participate in the non-constitutional 2-party system we have adopted, and since independents are not allowed to vote in primaries, I have no vote for the executive branch of this city's government.
The second matter is even more serious than disenfranchising half a million people since it can potentially mean the dissolution of what's left of our democracy. Even if you don't think you have the time, you should watch the recent HBO documentary "Hacking Democracy" on the crippling of our voting system by a few incompetent and/or unethical companies. I applaud HBO's lawyers for not yet having the film removed from Google Video (if it is a conscious decision they have made) but best to watch it soon regardless. Really, you need to watch this entire movie; it is an hour and twenty minutes well spent. Also check out Black Box Voting for more information on this crisis and updates throughout the election.
During my voting today I got to watch the voting volunteers celebrate as they finally got their one touch screen voting booth working at 11:30 am while a Spanish-language film crew interviewed an election official and people who were voting about the trustworthiness of the machines.
As for the actual content of the election, I have to quote Wonkette here: "The opposition opposes little more than being out of power."
So as not to be too depressing on this election day, I will say that my new green tea is quite good. Yaay, green tea!
With regards to the first matter, I and a half million other people have to deal with the reality of taxation without representation even as we shoulder a heavier tax burden than the rest of the country (and deplete our city resources to pay for security for other states' elected representatives). I wonder what would happen if the US proposed that residents of Baghdad not be allowed to have a voice in Iraq's parliament? Additionally, since DC is a largely Democratic place, the mayoral election is effectively decided in the primary and not in today's election. Because I don't wish to participate in the non-constitutional 2-party system we have adopted, and since independents are not allowed to vote in primaries, I have no vote for the executive branch of this city's government.
The second matter is even more serious than disenfranchising half a million people since it can potentially mean the dissolution of what's left of our democracy. Even if you don't think you have the time, you should watch the recent HBO documentary "Hacking Democracy" on the crippling of our voting system by a few incompetent and/or unethical companies. I applaud HBO's lawyers for not yet having the film removed from Google Video (if it is a conscious decision they have made) but best to watch it soon regardless. Really, you need to watch this entire movie; it is an hour and twenty minutes well spent. Also check out Black Box Voting for more information on this crisis and updates throughout the election.
During my voting today I got to watch the voting volunteers celebrate as they finally got their one touch screen voting booth working at 11:30 am while a Spanish-language film crew interviewed an election official and people who were voting about the trustworthiness of the machines.
As for the actual content of the election, I have to quote Wonkette here: "The opposition opposes little more than being out of power."
So as not to be too depressing on this election day, I will say that my new green tea is quite good. Yaay, green tea!