Voting the Issues

Today is Election Day. Despite where you may have to go to vote, it is important to get out there and actually voice your opinion. Even if, like me, your opinion is usually in the minority, you need to have your vote recorded. Even voting for the losing candidate or issue is important.

It's also important not to compromise yourself and vote for "the lesser of two evils". Never vote against your feelings. Whichever way you lean, its important to shaping the future that you vote the way you think. Today's loss can shape tomorrow's victory. If 10% of the people vote for something it starts gaining mind share vs. no one voting for something. I also want to note that "not voting because there is nothing I want to put my name on" is a perfectly valid stance in my opinion. Like I say, never vote for the lesser of two evils. If there are only two evils to vote for, don't vote.

And never, EVER, vote without educating yourself on the candidates and issues first. 

That being said, I'm an Ohio voter. Here is where I stand on the issues on today's ballot:

Issue 1: TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE TO ISSUE BONDS TO PROVIDE COMPENSATION TO VETERANS OF THE PERSIAN GULF, AFGHANISTAN, AND IRAQ CONFLICTS

Me: AGAINST. This is 200 million dollars in debt for the state of Ohio. I do believe it is important to take care of our veterans, but this is not the State's responsibility, the state of Ohio did not authorize the use of military action on foreign soil, the federal government did. Therefore, it is a federal issue. The last thing Ohio needs right now is more debt.

Issue 2: TO CREATE THE OHIO LIVESTOCK CARE STANDARDS BOARD TO ESTABLISH AND IMPLEMENT STANDARDS OF CARE FOR LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY

Me: AGAINST. That's some tricky language. It sounds like its all for the safety of animals and helps create more humane farms. It, in fact, will do exactly the opposite. Implementing "STANDARDS" sometimes means lowering them. In this case, they want to make it legal for factory farms to pack in more livestock in smaller places. Issue 2 is opposed by The Humane Society of the United States, the Capital Area Humane Society, the Cleveland Animal Protective League, the Toledo Area Humane Society, the Ohio Farmers Union, the Ohio Environmental Stewardship Alliance, Progress Ohio, League of Women Voters of Ohio, Center for Food Safety, the Ohio Sierra Club, Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association, the Columbus Dispatch, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and the Dayton Daily News. Not to mention, issue 2 is an abuse of the state constitution. But the language makes it sound like its good for everyone. I sincerely hope this issue fails.

Issue 3: TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION TO ALLOW FOR ONE CASINO EACH IN CINCINNATI, CLEVELAND, COLUMBUS, AND TOLEDO AND DISTRIBUTE TO ALL OHIO COUNTIES A TAX ON THE CASINOS

Me: FOR. Lets face it. This issue isn't perfect. It is in the gambling industries interest to pass this issue because they will make more money, and we theoretically could get a better deal if we had a smarter state government. But lets look at the facts. 1: Ohio is struggling with debt that is preventing our growth. 2: Casinos will make us money. 3: There are casinos in every surrounding state. 4: People in Ohio are already gambling on the state's stupid lottery system. There is no valid argument against this other than "I just don't like Casinos."

Those are my opinions, yours may differ and thats whats great about today. Today, we can vote and I can hope that the majority feels the same as I do, but if they don't, I at least got to voice my opinion without the fear of reprisal. That, my friends, is democracy.