I left home Tuesday morning at 5:00 a.m. to work as an election judge. After delivering the completed paper ballots and memory cards from the electronic voting machines (in company with a republican judge) to the Board of Elections at the end of the day, I got home at 10:00 p.m. In past elections there have been plenty of slow periods, during which judges can eat lunch or get some fresh air. This year we were busy almost every minute the polls were open. I was assigned to a polling place that serves a heavily Republican area, so I didnt even look at the results when we printed and signed the summary tapes at end of the day. Unfortunately Wednesday morning brought the dismal news that Illinois had elected a Republican governor -- one whom seems to embody must of the negative attributes one expects. BUT, the same voters who elected a Republican governor by a narrow margin also approved advisory issues in favor of a 3% tax on income of over 1 million dollars, to be used for schools; in favor of requiring all health insurance plans to include coverage of contraception for women; and in favor of raising the minimum wage to $10 per hour. Each of these three issues were favored by well over 60% of the voters. Clearly Illinois is not turning Republican, but voters are tired of the current governments lack of action of issues. Though the three advisory issues are not binding, there is a clear mandate for the State to act on these issues. It will be interesting to see if our new governor (and existing Democratic legislators) notice. So, there is my election 2014 rant.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 01:40:04 +0000