tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post1004231398738479540..comments2024-03-23T19:16:01.555-07:00Comments on Can it happen here?: Ferguson votesjaninsanfranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07548452260456734928noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-38204710548177905312015-04-08T08:01:59.624-07:002015-04-08T08:01:59.624-07:00Hi Rain: easier voting would sure help. Registrati...Hi Rain: easier voting would sure help. Registration is a restrictive anachronism in our hyper-connected world.<br /><br />What also strikes me about the Ferguson situation is how little incentive the town presented to aspiring candidates. The winners only get paid $250/month. But they have to reconstruct the whole town government edifice. And they can't (shouldn't!) depend on revenue from ticketing black drivers to do it. And, for their entire terms, most constituents are going to be mad at them. <br /><br />Not much fun and quite enough reason for a lot of good people not to run.janinsanfranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07548452260456734928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-83868041638722926632015-04-08T06:51:16.908-07:002015-04-08T06:51:16.908-07:00My objection to what was claimed as an excuse for ...My objection to what was claimed as an excuse for not voting (a lot of whites are apathetic too) is it takes away the responsibility once again from the one who stays home-- it's not their fault. I have argued against that mentality all my life and in personal relationships too. It is only <i>not</i> my fault if I am a slave. To say it's not my fault means I have no responsibility for what I've done or not done. I disagree. It is their fault to not vote. <br /><br />We can though make it easier to vote. Oregon, on a ballot measure, went to vote by mail. And this year, our governor signed into law that when someone gets a driver's license, they are registered to vote. That does not get in non-drivers but it's better than what we had. Vote by mail might bring out more in other states as sometimes they don't vote because they are working. Vote by mail offers no such excuse as the ballot comes in the mail and so does the information on candidates or ballot measures. [I did not actually vote for doing it by mail as I liked the polling booth and the community aspect, but it was the right decision, our voting numbers are much improved, and I am a major fan of it now. When we will be gone for the time the ballots would arrive, we request early voting and that works too]Rain Trueaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07994628226501093880noreply@blogger.com