I hope everyone who is a resident of California remembered to get out there and vote yesterday. I sure as hell forgot until I went to the grocery store in the early evening to do some shopping and took a look at the ridiculous sales tax on my receipt.

Glad to see the state legislature has come up with some innovative ways to solve a budget crisis in a state that is simultaneously one of the wealthiest in the country and already has the highest sales tax in the nation.

Anyway, the increase in sales tax is old news. It happened over a month ago, I thought last evening, and there is nothing I can do about it. Then on my way out of the store I noticed the cover of the L.A. Times where, in a rare showing of vital information, it mentioned the 6 measures on the ballot for the election.

Being both the concerned voter as well as the newly formed yuppie that I am, I decided that I needed to find my polling place pronto and so pulled out my new phone. They are always changing the polling places in Los Angeles County, and this time instead of a church, my polling place was in the lobby of a senior home on a heavily trafficked street with no parking.

Now, I have been to some strange polling places in my time: Knights of Columbus buildings, someone’s garage on a random residential street, apartment building entryways, gas stations, etc. So after yesterday’s experience in the senior home, I started thinking about my criteria for a polling place. I would think that most people just want to get in, punch the little card and get back to their lives. When you go to vote, it should be painless, hassle-free, and empowering. You should leave that gas station proud that you have done your duty as a citizen. You should not have to be confronted with visions of the tail-end of life: hacking old men, oxygen tanks, wailing senior citizens, Wheel of Fortune at top volume. I know we will all grow old and possibly end up in some kind of “facility” (another reason to make sure you treat your kids well), but I would like to request that all polling places be essentially shut off from the outside world. Instead of feeling proud about myself while exiting the senior home lobby yesterday, I wanted to weep all over my “I Voted” sticker and blow my nose in the ballot receipt.

Anyway, onto the issues. I’m not going to go into some long-winded political rant (I have friends who are much better at that), so I will start by saying that I am a Libertarian. I have noticed in recent years that people are somewhat guarded about the political party they align with and who or what they may have voted for (I can understand this given the past 8 years). In my home it was often treated as a taboo topic by my mother, and since then whenever the topic of who or what you voted for comes up, my instinct is to treat it like a sexually transmitted disease:

“Oh, well, I’d rather not discuss it.”

So, in an effort to break out of this habit, here are the results and how I voted:

1A – Result: No   My Vote: No

1B – Result: No   My Vote: No

1C – Result: No   My Vote: No

1D – Result: No   My Vote: No

1E – Result: No   My Vote: No

1F – Result: Yes  My Vote: Yes

Now, I’m all for everyone exercising their right to vote, but I can sympathize with those individuals who feel that their vote never counts due to the makeup of our electoral system. However, to those individuals, I offer this piece of advice: Always vote on state propositions. Voting on propositions is one of the few ways to really see your vote count, and the effects of rejecting or passing propositions are often directly felt by voters.

The L.A. Times sees the outcome of Tuesday’s election as a continuation of “Californians’ long-standing pattern of demanding what is ultimately irreconcilable, all the more so in an economic downturn: lower taxes and higher spending” (see article here). They go on to say that “Californians showed they were unwilling to scale back their demands in tight times: Voters turned down propositions that would have freed up money that they set aside years ago for mental-health and children’s programs.” I, as well as other Libertarians, see it as a clear signal to the governor and the legislature that Californians are demanding a dramatic change in budgeting and where tax dollars should go. In effect, spending smarter, not harder.

I don’t see these results as another example of Californians being fickle and wanting everything for nothing. That is a defeatist view that offers no real solutions, just blame.

I’m wondering what other people think? Leave a comment below.

To learn more about why I voted the way I did, check out the California Libertarian Party website or read their press release here.