I just got my official CA absentee ballot today

[Nikki Stone 1]

Any suggestions on the propositions?

[wtmusic]

1. Read 'em. nt

[Nikki Stone 1]

2. The top of the ballot actually looks defaced

Hmmm...

[LeftyMom]

3. I got mine too

Usually between the voter's guide, the CA forum and the LWV site, I get the damned things sorted out.

[Nikki Stone 1]

8. I know. I just don't have the voter's guide yet

I am also worried because the ballot looks pre-defaced. I don't know how to get a new one without mailing the damned thing back and asking for another. I looked at the registrar of voters office but they have nothing there about replacing a defaced ballot.

[LeftyMom]

9. Call monday, you might have to go into thier office

Or if you can go into a polling place on election day you should be able to exchange your spoiled ballot for a fresh one and turn it in there, but ask about that to be sure.

[Nikki Stone 1]

13. Thanks. I have a map of the area

and the registrar isn't too far out of the way. I'd have to go as soon as they opened. I hope they can replace the ballot there and that I don't have to mail it back and worry that they won't get it to me.

[pinto]

4. Yeah. Read them twice. To be honest, I spent a couple of days on and off,

going over the pros and cons, just casually y'know ?, but to the point where I could feel comfortable with a vote and say why I chose as I did. It's a lot of proposition stuff this election...

[Nikki Stone 1]

7. I know. I've been reading up on certain ones

85 is of course a No.

There are some local funding measures which are all long overdue so yes on those.

I'm also worried because the ballot appears defaced all over the top. It may be just an ink problem, but I don't want a spoiled ballot for any reason.

[robinlynne]

5. here are the recommendations from the west LA dem club (progressive)

Yes on all of them, except:

NO on prop 85 the anti-abortion ammendment
NO on prop 90 the "taxpayer trap amendment"

and they have no recommendation with respect to:
83-jessica's law
It is too long to list each one...

[Nikki Stone 1]

6. Thanks. I've been reading about 85 and that will be no

And I have read up on the local ones. My concern is really about the ones that have been heavily advertised (86 and 87).

[robinlynne]

23. 87? tax the oil companies. That is a HUGE YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh no, don't tell me their big oil advertising is really confusing people.

As for 86, I'm personally voting no. I smoke, and I'm tired of being in the most taxed group of people in the world. I'm sure we'll lose, but we pay plenty enough already.

[Nikki Stone 1]

25. Having Chevron on the list of the opposition's funders

made me wanted to vote for it. But I really haven't looked at what the ramifications would be.

[AlCzervik]

10. so far it's no on 85, yes on84, 86 and 87. I still have a lot of reading

to do. 85 is a must vote NO imo.

[Peace Patriot]

11. I got a list of recommendations on the props from various org's, and

here's what I came up with. (I'm going mostly with Friends--Quaker--recommend's, when in doubt. The list was broad-based: Friends, Sierra Club, NOW, League of Women Voters, Farm Bureau (v. rightwing), Chamber of Comm, Repub and Dem Parties, etc. From this I determined...)

1A - NO

1B - NO

1C - YES

1D - YES

1E - YES (disaster prep/flood prevention bond--maybe; I'd rather they get our money back from Enron and Cheney)

83 - NO!

84 - YES

85 - NO!

86 - NO (cig tax, by personal libertarian stance)

87 - YES!

88 - YES

89 - YES!

90 - NO!

(Note: an exclamation mark (!) means the good guys were pretty unanimous yes or no, or that only really bad guys want it.)

[Nikki Stone 1]

14. Great ratings system!

Who the hell is "Let's Rebuild California"?

[Eric J in MN]

12. Yes on Proposition 89

Says this MyDD (liberal blog) "Diary" post:

http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/10/10/14711/027

[Nikki Stone 1]

15. Public Financing of Campaigns

I'll have to read this one in depth. On the surface it looks good.

[robinlynne]

24. 89 is great! It is the clean money act. It is a really great and important

prop!

[Nikki Stone 1]

26. I like what I'm hearing. Trying to google it

By the way, are printer's ink stains on the ballot considered defacement?

[robinlynne]

27. big question. Did it arrive that way?

If it were an actual ballot, and machine counted, they could turn the level of rejection for stians to high medium or low. (Believe it or not). As absentees are supposedly hand counted, I would guess that you're ok if the stains are not in the voting box area. If tehya re serious, I would call your registrar's office now and request another one. How bad is it? (I'm curious, because I'm an election protection advocate, and I would like to know if anyone is sending out ballots with a problem.)

[Nikki Stone 1]

28. It did arrive that way just this evening

The ink stains are actually above the voting boxes--and they are kind of shell shaped and repeat in pattern. At first I thought it might be a pattern in the paper. But it's not. And they also appear across the perforated strip you are supposed to pull off as a receipt. I don't have a scanner and I don't know if it would even help.

[robinlynne]

29. Nikki,

The part you keep isn't to worry about. only if it is on or near the voting boxes. That is the only part that matters. I would go to the website for your registrar of your county, make a phone call, ask if there could be a problem and try to speak with someone with authority to answer, and keep the name. I know if you go to vote in person when you have signed up for absentee, they will give you a provisional. That you don't want. But you should easily be able to get a new ballot officially; I just don't know exactly how it plays out. You just don't want a provisional ballot because they don't have to count them. nor absentees delivered on and after election day.
(They do have to count those, but they have 3 weeks to do it, so they take their time.)

[Nikki Stone 1]

30. Robin, I'm looking at the ballot carefully

The weird print marks are on the section that says OFFICIAL BALLOT and gives instructions. Some light print blots are on the grey title bar that says "State" or "Federal". But there are no marks near the bubbles that you have to fill in.

I don't want a provisional ballot. If I go to the registrar, would they give me a replacement ballot? The instructions on the envelope say that if the ballot is "spoiled" I should send it back by mail and they'll send a new one. But, I don't know if I would get one by election day.

[robinlynne]

31. That's why I was saying to call. But it sounds to me like your ballot is

fine. I would just make that phone call anyway. ballots shouldn't be sent out with marks all over them.

[Nikki Stone 1]

32. Thanks for your help. I will go sometime this week and see

what they think.

[Nikki Stone 1]

16. Great blog--and this is mindblowing:

"A recent report by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California shows why special interests that want to preserve the status quo like it that way. If nonvoters went to the polls, the institute found, they would favor a more activist government -- voting out Arnold Schwarzenegger and passing big bond measures. The institute identifies an "exclusive electorate" that is older, richer, whiter and more conservative than the average Californian."

[rhymeinreason]

17. No on 90!

I just got my voter guide this week, but the Sierra Club is recommending a no vote on 90 because although the issue is framed as "Don't let them take your home to build a shopping mall!", the actual language of the proposition also makes it more difficult to allocate land for open space or to restrict development for environmental reasons.
The proposition itself is being bankrolled by a wealthy Libertarian real estate developer from New York, Apparently, he has sponsored initiatives in several states. Here's the article on Howie Rich ( and hoping to get Richer!) from last week's Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/05/MNGBOLINSB1.DTL&hw=Howie+Rich&sn=001&sc=1000

Personally, while I disagree with the recent Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain, I do not want to see large land developers compensated with my tax dollars because they want to flatten everything in sight and upset the ecosystem to build more McMansions.

Having said all that, I will add that I have not yet gotten up to Prop 90 in the voter guide ( I'm currently slogging through bond measures). When I do get to Prop 90, I will try to remember to get back and post some specifics on the "poison pills" in the measure for you - check the California forum in about a week if you're interested.

The only other propositions I've marked so far are the ones on parental notification (NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!) and public financing of campaigns (yes) .

I will also admit I am somewhat influenced (negatively) by the fact that the ads against Prop 86 (cigarette taxes) and Prop 87 (alternative energy) are financed by respectively, Phillip Morris & RJR, and Chevron. I will probably vote yes on both of these, but I want to read the specifics about what will be done with the money the state gets should these initiatives pass.

These are the thoughts of a woman who will vote "yes" on any local measure with the words "public library".

Have fun slogging through the voter guide yourself,

jls

[Nikki Stone 1]

18. Thanks. I'll look at 90 very carefully

I hate when they look good but have little grenades thrown in.

[ruiner4u]

19. make sure you over stamp it..

an earlier thread said ballots that are oversized in some states may take extra postage and some PO's might destroy them

this is for all states

[Nikki Stone 1]

21. Thanks for the reminder!

I'll weigh it before I send it.

[sweetheart]

20. Vote No on Proposition 13

Howard Jarvis is wrong, it will destroy the schools,
like a sick predatory form a republicanism born from,
clawing back decency from the public common.

[Nikki Stone 1]

22. If only we could go back and do just that....

:(