"Exercise" the right to vote...

...is a slogan we take seriously here in California, with the arrival of our 165-page 2004 Voter Information Guide. After carrying the three books (I have two roommates) from the mailbox and up the stairs, I was done working out arms for that day. While I don't recall Tolstoy getting elected Secretary of State, I'm beginning to think he may have had something to do with writing it. Add to those 165-pages the 21-page supplemental guide, the 32-page county guide and sample ballot, and the 16-page city guide, and I start to wonder if it's not too late to drop this class. Oddly enough, this isn't even one of our longer ballots.

Normally, I wait until the night before the election, pull an all nighter, and go through the candidates and propositions until I'm ready to pass out, then change my mind while I'm punching my ballot. This time I thought I'd figure it all out way ahead of time. Being the geek that I am, I of course decided to organize my vote on the candidates and propositions together in two HTML tables. I'm still making up my mind on a few, but here's where I am so far. Any input? I recommend these sites to help you make up your mind: smartvoter.org. Also be sure to check out the fundamentalists at CCF. If they're supporting a position or candidate, do think twice about it. Be sure to look at who signed their marriage protection pledge (it makes for a nice disqualifier).

Position	Candidate	My Notes
PRESIDENT	16. DEMOCRATIC (JOHN KERRY)
U.S. SENATOR	30. BARBARA BOXER	Her opponent, Bill Jones, is rabidly anti-gay. He signed the anti-gay marriage protection plan put out by the fundamentalist CCF organization. Jones also supported the hateful Prop 22 (aka the "Knight Initiative"). Jones is against a woman's right to choose. Boxer has an outstanding record of protecting and supporting gay rights.
U.S. REP 36TH DIST	37. JANE HARMAN	Her opponent, Paul Whitehead, signed the CCF's anti-gay marriage protection plan. Harman is a well respected Congressperson and supports and protects the rights of gay Americans.
STATE ASSEMBLY 53RD	42. MIKE GORDON	Greg Hill supported the anti-gay Prop 22 put forth by the late Bigot Sen. Pete Knight.
JUDICIAL OFFICE 18	54. PAT CAMPBELL	No firm opinions on judicials offices. Took a guess based upon their responses to questions from the League of Women Voters or their websites.
JUDICIAL OFFICE 29	58. LORI JONES
JUDICIAL OFFICE 52	61. LAURA PRIVER
JUDICIAL OFFICE 53	63. DAVID LOPEZ
JUDICIAL OFFICE 69	69. DONNA GROMAN

(  ...propositions...  )

Any thoughts?

Right now, my ass is going to bed.