Election Day | JerseySmarts.com

Posts Tagged ‘Election Day’

Going All Absentee Ballot, All The Time

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

You may remember that after the November 2008 general election, I wrote an entry talking about how I was considering using absentee balloting all of the time for the foreseeable future. Well, earlier this week I signed up for the Civilian Absentee Ballot program where I’ll receive an absentee ballot for all general elections until I ask for otherwise.

It’s not that I don’t like the whole voting booth experience, it’s that it is very hard (and expensive) for someone who rents in one part of the state to travel to another part of the state to cast a single vote. Plus, add in the fact that I generally have to go to work on Election Day and you get a real problem in terms of traveling logistics. If there is an option available to cast an absentee ballot in place of making the trip and having to juggle a ridiculous schedule, then why not take it?

For those of you who are registered in Morris County and looking to have an absentee ballot sent to you instead of having to go to the polls, feel free to click here to download the very easy to fill out, one page application. I think that the Civilian Absentee Ballot is a great option to get more people voting more consistently.

Posted in The State of New Jersey, United States Politics | 3 Comments »

Euphoric Idiots Are Extremely Annoying

Saturday, January 17th, 2009

One thing that pisses me off about the coming inauguration has nothing to do with the new administration. Instead, it has to do with those extremists who are so excited that President Bush is leaving office and that a Democrat – any Democrat – is taking the job. Hey, I’m a fan of the new administration (thus far) and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do for America.

But I have to tell you this – I work with this guy who is such a raging extremist (I wouldn’t call him a liberal because it would be an insult to liberals everywhere) that I almost can’t stand it. This man is going to the inauguration to stand on the outskirts of the event and has literally been euphoric since the day after Election Day. Listen, I was as happy as the next American after Election Day, but the joy subsided once I got back to work! There are times to be happy and there are times to get a job done and move on with your life.

To be as out of touch with reality as this coworker of mine has been for the last two months is not only unhealthy, but unbelievably unprofessional. It’s been hard to deal with this asshole over the last few months, but I’m hoping that his stupidity comes to an end after inauguration day. We should let the administration work some magic before we erect statues to their honor. I’ll let my coworker know!

Posted in Idiots, Morons, & Fools, United States Politics | No Comments »

Considering All Absentee Ballot, All the Time

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

Being a political junkie, I tend to troll over a variety of websites looking for the latest and greatest information on local, state, and national politics. While looking over the Morris County Clerk’s website I stumbled onto the Civilian Absentee Ballot Application. Reading through the information on the pre-application page and the application itself, I learned that I can choose to receive absentee ballots for all future general elections.

In other words, I can fill out this application and then always have a ballot sent to whatever address that I want so I can be sure to vote in whatever general election is upcoming. I had no idea that I could do this, but it sounds like a great idea!

Some of you may know that I rent an apartment in Tinton Falls which is about an hour and a half from my voting station in Mount Arlington. As such, Election Day always presents a logistical problem for me since I have to factor a three-hour drive into my schedule. Voting by absentee ballot would be much more efficient. Some additional research into the Morris County Clerk’s website shows that no one voted by absentee ballot in Mount Arlington during this year’s election. While that may seem suspect to some people, there were only some 2,493 votes cast in the entire Borough. To assume that there were no absentee ballots cast this year is not that far of a stretch.

However, the ability to have a perpetual absentee ballot is a great option for someone like me who is generally moving to a new place every few years. Sure, I intend to register in which ever municipality where I wind up purchasing a home, but that’s not coming any time soon. Plus, because I’m constantly reading up on the local news I might even be more aware of political issues going on in my hometown than some of the folks who are voting up there anyway!

When you think about it, the application of the perpetual absentee ballot is powerful. Unfortunately, there are some people who just do not want to go to the polling stations to cast their votes. Some might be hindered because of their jobs and others might be hindered because of their personal schedules. In New Jersey, where we do not have early voting, receiving an absentee ballot that has to be mailed in to the County Clerk’s Office some 7 days prior to the election may increase the possibility that more eligible voters will vote.

I’m going to look into this some more, but I’m strongly considering going to an all-absentee ballot, all the time setup for future general elections (school board and primary elections do not apply).

Posted in Local People & Politics, The State of New Jersey, United States Politics | 2 Comments »

Is Early Voting a Good Idea?

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

Yes…and no. Is early voting a good idea? This is a rare question that can be answered in the both the negative and affirmative. Let’s take a look at both sides of the issue…

Early voting is a great idea since America has not declared Election Day a national holiday. The fact is that there are many people out there who have employment situations that do not support voting during the time allocated on Election Day. There are others (myself included) who are registered to vote in a town that is an hour and a half away from where I live. So guess who gets to make the drive back to his hometown to vote and then make the drive back to his apartment to wait for the results on Election Day… That’s right!

There are any number of reasons why early election is a good idea. What about the truck driver who lives in Nebraska, but happens to be on an assignment to Maine? That person isn’t voting on Election Day no matter what they do! Sure, they could apply for an absentee ballot, but that’s about as inefficient as you can get (plus, most of the time the absentee ballots aren’t counted for days or weeks after the election).

At the same time, early voting is a horrible idea if you really aren’t firmly behind a candidate. In other words, if you go to the polls on the Saturday before the election just because it fits your schedule, can you be sure that you made the right decision? What if one of the candidates comes out with some ridiculously outlandish statements in the last 48 hours of the campaign? What if one of their major policy positions is diced up and mutilated by their fellow party members (think Obama’s tax plan in the mouths of Joe Biden and Bill Richardson)? In the year 2000, FOX News broke a story about then-Governor George W. Bush and his drunk driving revelations. Many people think that this negative story on Bush in the last few days of the election cost him the popular vote. Who knows?

Then again if you’re voraciously in favor of one candidate over another, then early voting is probably a good option for you. In the end, though, let’s remember that diversifying our voting methods is a good thing for America!

Posted in United States Politics | 1 Comment »

Where Do The Republicans Go From Here?

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

Though this post might be a bit early, all of the polls are suggesting that this Tuesday is going to bring big gains for the Democrats in the Congress. Oh, and then there’s that whole Presidential election, where it is likely that Barack Obama will bring the White House back to the Democratic Party. The Democrats are looking at holding a solid majority in the House, Senate, and the White House for the first time since 1992. And it’s looking more and more like the Democrats will wind up with 60 seats in the Senate after the election, giving them a filibuster-proof majority.

Halloween was yesterday, but this is a frightening proposition.

Now settle down my little extremist minded readers. I am not suggesting that this is scary because the majority of our government will be Democrats. Rather it is scary because one party will have complete control of the American government (the Supreme Court ideologies do not count). That’s not right. Of course, the Republicans have had this coming to them for a while now. The Republicans took over the American government and did not bring the change that the people wanted. It’s funny, though, how in the wake of President Bush’s second term the nation forgets about the Democratic scandals of the last two decades. It’s even funnier that this country is dominated by a vicious, disgustingly biased media. But I digress…

What will the Republicans do if they fail as miserably this coming Tuesday? Frankly, it’s time for the GOP to go back to the drawing board. They had their opportunity to make a difference in American government and they failed. I see two paths for the Republicans in the wake of a pending disaster on Election Day.

First, they can choose to take up a truly moderate position on all of the major issues. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has a think tank called American Solutions. This group has taken a variety of polls showing how 80% – 90% of Americans agree on certain issues. For example, polls show that 87% of Americans support English as the official language of the United States. Another example – 81% support greater use of domestic energy sources to fuel America’s future. Great.

The Republicans can choose to be the champions of these bipartisan issues and use this stance to win back some of the good graces of the American public.

The second direction the party can go from here is highly unlikely, but still a possibility. In short, the party can break up into various factions. Let’s face it, John McCain is not the same Republican as is George W. Bush; just as Elizabeth Dole is not the same type of Republican as Arnold Schwarzenegger; just as Christine Todd Whitman is certainly a different type of Republican than John Ashcroft. The fact is that there are too many different “types” of Republicans and this is a bad thing. Why is it a bad thing? Look at the current election cycle. There will be Republicans who lose Senate or House seats because there is an “R” after their name on the ballot. Sure, they may disagree with all of the policies of the current administration, but they’re about to get punished anyway.

Why not have a Conservative Republican party? Why not a Constitutional Republican party or a Traditional Republican party? Trust me, I understand why the power structures at the top of the Republican party would never allow this to happen (ca-ching!), but it might be time for the candidates (present and future) to take this party into their own hands. If you’re running as a Republican in San Francisco, guess what? You lose. But what if you ran as a candidate in a Liberal Republican party? What if you could disassociate with the stigmas and stereotypes of a nationwide organization?

With all of this being said, I have to say that I believe if Obama wins the election it will be very hard for him to win re-election. My reasoning is exactly the same as above. If the Democrats win the big majorities in the Congress, then it doesn’t matter who sits in the White House because the Senate Majority leader will rule the legislative agenda of the country. I believe that this country will experience a major shift to the left in the coming years and it might be too big of a swing for many to take. Obama needs to watch out for that if he’s sitting in the White House…but first he has to win the election.

Posted in United States Politics | No Comments »