This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

I love Voting by Mail

Voting by mail is great because you can take your time to figure out how you want to vote.

I started voting by mail a few years ago and I love it. One of the best things I like about voting by mail is that I can sit down with my ballot and take my time to figure out how I want to vote. When I'm in the voting booth with a line behind me I feel like I need to vote and move on. When I'm at home I have time, the voter's guide and the Internet.

For example, on the June 5th ballot are Propositions 28 and 29. I ended up voting yes on both. Prop 28 is a little complex because you not only have to understand Prop 28, but the way things are now. I decided to vote for it because although it reduces the time legislatures can serve total, they can divide it up in a much more reasonable way.

Prop 29 is a cigarette tax. I have mixed feelings about sin taxes because I don't want to see California funded by sin: cigarettes, alcohol, casinos, lotteries. But California is the most aggressive state against smoking of any state so I voted for the tax. However I would rather see them make cigarettes a prescription drug that is only sold with a doctor's prescription as part of addiction treatment.

Find out what's happening in Gilroywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I personally am against term limits. It forces good people out of the system. If someone is doing a good job and wants to make it their career I think that's just fine. The way the system is now we are forced to be governed by inexperienced people and by the time they learn the job they have to quit. That is, in my opinion, why California is in the shape we're in—other than because of the Bush disaster.

When it came to the United States Senate I really like the new voting laws where I can vote for anyone in the primary and it might result in two Democrats running rather that a Democrat and a Republican. Quite frankly I don't like Senator Fienstein and I'd like to see her replaced — but not with a Republican. So I looked into which Democrat is the best one to replace Feinstein. I ended up voting for Mike Strimming based on his "Tax the Rich" position. The top 1 percent has far too much power and I want to put an end to that.

Find out what's happening in Gilroywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I encourage everyone to vote by mail. It's great and will give you an opportunity to research your views so that your ballot represents your views.

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?