The last estimate I read was a turnout of 37%. How disgusting. We have completely lost our sense of community, and have fallen into the "what's in it for me?" mindset.
Remind me again the purpose of vote-by-mail? Oh yeah, to increase voter turnout. How's THAT working for ya?!

Your dad was a very wise man. Unfortunately, most folks have lost faith in our political system and we're slowly grinding towards the day when the bullets will start flying. It is anybody's guess as to what will happen then.

Vote now!

Amen to that!!

I don't remember exactly who it was that instilled my voting instinct, but I do remember hearing words similar to those in the post.

My very first vote was for Frank Church in 1978. I've voted in EVERY election since. My dad also instilled in me the mindset that your vote is a God given right and obligation. I vote even when I KNOW it won't count for beans. When it is a "throw-away" event. In fact, thinking about it, almost all of my votes have been for naught. Thank God I already sent my ballot in; I might've not voted at all.

On Monday evening's drive home (about 4:30 pm), I noticed that Mary Volm was sign-waving on the NE corner of the intersection of SE Hawthorne at SE 39th Avenue (dba Cesar Chavez Blvd.).

As far as our US voting options go, it's worth noting that Australia has a "compulsory-voting law," and all Aussies are required to vote, under threat of penalty/fine.

"...Australia has a 'compulsory-voting law,' and all Aussies are required to vote, under threat of penalty/fine."

I haven't looked at the data, but it would be interesting to see if compulsory-voting countries have any advantages (economic, civil rights, etc.) over those who respect their citizens' right to not vote. I doubt it.

Personally, I believe vote-by-mail is part of the reason politics have gotten so screwed up in this state. Your ballot arrives with the usual pile of junk mail and bills and gets put in the stack of mail to take care of or pay later, which probably gets procrastinated by most. In the privacy of your home you don't see your neighbors voting and no one sees you, so any sense of belonging to your community and fulfilling your civic responsibility as a communitybasically evaporates. Because of the timespan between receiving your ballot and the actual final count, there really isn't even a special 'election day' anymore, so again, more isolation from the process. Essentially, the whole experience of voting has been made impersonal, vague, and distant, resulting in apathy and low general voter turnout and elections vulnerable to zealots to vote in their favorite armband de jour.

So basically, vote! Or only the zealots will.

It may not be bullets, it is more likely your 2 lb of flesh(inflation, you know!).

Yes, vote now, and then show up in Salem, at County, City hearings. Get informed. Show up.

Here's a link to the City's agenda the next couple of days. Items 663 to 666, as well as 716 at the bottom are interesting, as well as others. Sewer, water and garbage rates increases are indicated.

Use this kind of resource to find out then speak out.

http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?c=26997

If one inserts the word shenanigans for bullets, we have had plenty flying our way from the national level down to the local level. While bullets are lethal, the stress on a population caused by "horrendous decisions" takes it's toll. Now for those who don't pay attention, the day will come when they can no longer play their life and not contribute to their community or "care about politics".

There are people I know who won't muddy themselves to be involved. . or even take the time to vote. Voting is just one part of participating and some will do that and then zero contribution afterwords as if by magic, someone else takes care of everything. Magic for those who fly in and take advantage.

I was the first 18 year old to vote at my precinct and it was a proud moment. I haven't stopped voting since, and encourage everyone I know to take the time.....it does matter.

The folks in Multnomah County are really going to have to "get on their horses" to reach the predicted 37% turnout. As of yesterday, voters in that county had turned in a little less than 20 percent of their ballots.

to the other Steve - interesting you would mention Frank Church (as in how in the heck did he ever get elected in Idaho!) I grew up in Idaho - got to have lunch with him when I was in DC on a 4-H trip around 1973 - still remember being in awe, and trying to converse in an intelligible manner.

And, what's that bumpersticker - If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention. Voting on occasion does make a difference.

I always vote. It has never occurred to me not too. My theory is that if you don't exercise your right to vote you shouldn't have the right to complain about the results.

"...You'd better vote, because if you don't, some day when you try to, the bullets are going to be flying over your head.""

Sadly, I just don't think it matters anymore and won't until those bullets start flying. Not when I read of people cheering about the supremes latest sillyness over sex crimes. People whinge and cry about the AZ law but think that "sexual dangerous" isn't vague and couldn't be used wrongly.

I dropped my ballot off at the Marion County elections office this morning, saw maybe 8 total people filling out or dropping ballots off. At least I'll give the counters something to do since I voted for no incumbent judge who ran unopposed.

"Frank Church in 1978"

Great guy. I agree how did Church win one term in ID let alone four? He lost his bid for a 5th term in 1980 by one point.

One issue is that our system is so sclerotic (see US senate rules) that elections never seem to have any real consequences. To many people nothing changes.

Sure one can point to federal judges-big diff between Clinton's appointees vs Bush's, and with regulatory agencies as well, but day-to-day change is harder to see for most people.

In parliamentary systems (Canada, UK etc) the majority can implement it's agenda so people know there will be change if the opposition wins a legislative majority.

There is no separate election for chief executive; the prime minister is elected by legislators, with the job going to the leader of the party that won a legislative majority.

This encourages turnut on both sides; from those who want the opposition to win and those who don't.

From talking with a couple Aussies that I know, the compulsory voting law only causes Mickey Mouse and Batman to get statistically higher percentages of the return.

Forcing people to pull a lever doesn't make them care, or get informed. It only forces them to pull a lever, or write in some jive just to say they did it and get Jonneh Law off their back.

dropped our ballots of at Midland Library about 1 pm today. There was a steady trickle of cars doing the same thing.

Interesting. I recently was involved elsewhere online (that site goes far beyond Oregon in scope and politics is not the main gist) where there was an argument being put forth that not voting was a great form of protest against how awful the current state of politics is. The ensuing discussion was unbelievable and mind blowing. But sometimes the lack of viable alternatives really gets voters down. I only don't vote if someone is running unopposed (most judges in Oregon) and I don't feel like endorsing their gift to office. I've also been known to use goofy write-ins where the opposition was not viable and I thought the encumbant was not worthy. In one case, eventually there was a worthy opponent who unseated the jerk (our former Mayor Wifebeater).

"Forcing people to pull a lever doesn't make them care, or get informed. It only forces them to pull a lever, or write in some jive just to say they did it and get Jonneh Law off their back.?"

Actually, for a mail-voting-only state, compulsory ballot return (voted or not) makes a great deal of sense.

A compulsory ballot-return law doesn't make anyone vote but making them return a ballot --- and, more importantly, making the clerk SEND THEM a ballot is great. It means that the state (keeper of the registered voter file) has to keep its list current, and that voters have to notify the elections office (and the elections offices and county clerks have to do their jobs and maintain the rolls by checking obituaries and other state records).

You mean: Time to vote if you are willing to publicly affiliate yourself with an organized political party.

I've seen the Oregon D's in action from up close; it would be hard to find a sleazier bunch of whinging imbecile's.

And you don't have to be close to it to see that the R's here are mostly nuts.

Neither are organizations I want to endorse, even in so meager a way as to sign myself up as a supporter, even temporarily.

Third parties are too poor to matter and, in my experience, are no less sleazy/crazy.

You can all take your turnout gripes right to party headquarters, where the only thing that the sleazy and crazy can agree on is that a closed primary is a fine way to protect organizational strangleholds on power.

Open the primary or get back to me in November.