Vote Today
7.11.06 @ 11:42 am
UPDATE: More voter disenfranchisement is going on. It is nice to see public personalities like Laura Ingram outrightly encouraging people to flood voter oversight hotlines with prank calls. If you want to lose a couple IQ points, listen to this genius.
UPDATE 2: Our press, doing a heckuva job.
UPDATE 3: Looks like we are very close to having a blue House and Senate. Big changes no doubt await us.
If you live in the states, perform your civic duty and vote! If you have not registered to vote, then get off your butt and do it for the next election. By all means, drop a comment to tell us if you’ve voted and if so, how the process went. There have been a lot of bad stories going on about the voting process this year - share your thoughts/concerns.2006, blue, cnn, democrat victories, election, house of represenatives, Laura Ingram, midterm elections, prank calls, press, senate, vote, voter disenfranchisement voting
November 7th, 2006 at 11:55 am
$0.00 in Comment Love for July
To be honest, I am still registered to vote in another state than the one I currently live in. But hey, at least I am registered somewhere!
There are so many confusing props in California. Despite the many guides provided to understand the pros and cons of each measure, I have a strong belief that they were not written for the every day person, which is unfair to people learning English or those who are simply not strong readers. Another thing that intrigues me is the visual design of the voting booklets. Intimidating layout with cramped text. I believe there is a way to make the reading process easier for citizens through hierarchy and typography.
November 7th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
A lot of people share the opinion you have about intentional complexity to disenfranchise voters. Our democratic infrastructure could use a little cleaning up to say the very least…
And yes, the voting booklets are absolutely wretched. I do not want the state to spend millions of dollars designing voting booklets, but I also do not want confusing, unclear, on-the-cheap booklets as well.
November 7th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
$0.00 in Comment Love for July
I have a friend who is a mathematic genius. English is his first language but he understands the language of numbers more than words. It frustrates the crap out of him to read the “fine print” on cell phone plans, voter registration stuff, etc. I understand how it can be discouraging for many.
I don’t think the state needs to spend millions of dollars just to get a decently designed booklet. This is graphic design 101. Any talented young designer could simply tighten the layout of a book like this. (I am not saying that you shouldn’t pay a designer their fair share, but it sure wouldn’t amount to millions.) This would be a great opportunity for a revered design firm to do some pro-bono work. Perhaps they could design a nation-wide template and simple style guide. Something like this would make a big difference!
November 7th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
You’re absolutely right, there has to be a studio out there that would do this pro-bono. My only question is if there are so many regulations out there that constrain what can actually be done. I am really curious what the guidelines are for something like this.
November 7th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
$0.00 in Comment Love for July
Butterfly ballot. That’s all I have to say.
November 7th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
$0.00 in Comment Love for July
I know this guy who isn’t a mathematical genius, but he can code pretty well. Well, let’s just call him my “friend” - well, my “friend” doesn’t really like to read the “fine print” on any sort of mail, even if it is something that he really excited about - like voting.
The booklets are not user friendly in any way. The readability is horrible, but also the booklets are split into two books! Why not just consolidate and have in one spot? Also, you could publish online and when people register to vote, they could also sign up for paperless informational voting materials - just like you can sign up for a plethora of other paperless communications. This would save the state a lot of $$. Cheaper, faster, better, right?
November 7th, 2006 at 10:48 pm
Actually, I think your “friend” is much smarter than you give him credit.
November 7th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
$0.00 in Comment Love for July
Maybe - but let’s keep that between us