Welcome

Somewhere embedded in my sense of citizenship and patriotism, I felt it was a voter's responsibility to do their homework, especially when voting a representative into office. Presuming that upon installment in office, these officials would be acting on behalf of the people they represent, the homework I did up front offered the best chance of casting a vote for the 'right' candidate.

I felt it was my duty, but I did a poor job of executing. I was not doing enough independent research before casting my vote. Recently I wondered, had I cast my decisions on accurate information? Who among my resources was actually presenting factual, unbiased evidence? How much of my vote was "emotional" versus "objective"?

I have to admit, at times there were so many positions and so many names on a ballot I hadn't even heard of that on occasion, my ultimate selection may have been based on random thoughts. Mea Culpa - but I'm not alone. I know people who have quietly admitted to doing much the same thing.

I knew then and I know now that it is unrealistic to expect the average citizen to conduct first hand research into every candidate and every initiative presented to them over the course of an election period. That's one reason why we rely so heavily on the media for an "unbiased" journalistic view. Nonetheless, the question remained: just how much research can I conduct on my own before it completely disrupts my lifestyle? What if I took the top two or three items that were most important to me? Could I manage that? What would I base my vote on for the remaining items on the ballot? Would I even cast a vote or take a pass on those issues?

Those questions provided the inspiration for this endeavor. I intend to give focused effort over the life of one year to the life of a ballot - my ballot.

For my comrades who share this dilemma every time the ballot rolls around, I hope this research contributes a small measure of information and comfort as you head to the polls the next time around.