I vote!

So, I got my absentee ballot today (or maybe yesterday since we didn't check the mail then). I knew only who I was voting for President, but everything else I was like "eh?". I could have just marked everything for my party, but I thought it would be good if I checked out some of the other candidates.

I discovered this was harder to do than I would have thought. If they weren't Republican or Democrats, it was almost impossible to find them on the Internet. And even if they were a major party, I was out of luck if the office position wasn't a big "important" one.

I found one website that was for a Libertarian. I know nothing about Libertarians, so for me, it was more about what this candidate believed than what his party stood for. Well, the first thing that stood out to me was his horrible website layout. I mean, come'on! In this day an age even a 15 year old could do better than that. Secondly, he was very vague about what he actually supported or not. I came away going "Uh.. what?" Thirdly, he made a comment that he consistently voted Democrat.

Put this all together and the guy ended up leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I hate when people who are running for any government office do not properly explain themselves. What are their convictions? What direction do they want to go? What do they not like about the current system? What do they like about the current system?

Blah!

The people who ran on the Constitution were no better. Not because of something they said, but simply because I could not find them! How am I suppose to vote for someone I can't get any information on?

I ended up voting Republican on every single thing. This irritated me. I am not really a Republican. I vote for whoever looks like they'll do the job best. I got cornered because I didn't have enough information... (Dang those small government offices that don't seem important enough to be on the net properly!!)

This is naughty of me, but the only group I did no research on was the Democratic Party. I know I know... that's not being an informed voter.

Nothing against the candidates, but they're supporting a Party I can not go along with. (I disagree with the Democratic Party on economics, social issues, government spending, and taxes.) Even if the candidate was good, the fact that they were being backed by a party I disagree with would make them almost impossible for me to vote for.

I also got to vote on [South Dakota] Constitutional amendments and stuff. That was kind fun, though I did have to read some things more than twice before I thought I understood the amendments well enough to say yes or no.

So, yeah... I'm gonna put this in the mailbox.. or.. well.. I'm not sure exactly. The envolope won't fit in the mail, so I may have to use one of those blue drop-off boxes. But I'm gonna do it soon! I'm excited! This is my first chance to vote!

Yay for me!