Ever since I began voting in San Francisco I've likened the process to brain surgery. You may find it incredibly hilarious of me to say this, but so much of the voting really shouldn't be done by the public at large-- that's why we elect officials to represent us. There are important issues that should come before the public, and it is useful for the public to have a tool to go around the legislators when they simply won't get something needed done, but I believe we have come to a point in San Francisco when the ballot box decision-making has simply gotten out of hand.

Take for instance the ballot book. Now, while I greatly appreciate receiving information about the candidates and positions and a sample ballot in the mail beforehand (Back in Missouri we used to get only a card that told us where to vote and we would get to the polling place and be completely unsure of what was gonna happen. Very unhelpful.), the ballot book in San Francisco is 245 pages (2 HUNDRED and 45 pages!). Who in their right mind, other than politicos or people who don't have jobs or people who really like to read detailed legal text all day, is really going to read through that. My biggest concern is that receiving a ballot book like that turns people off more than it prepares them for voting. And so many of these issues in San Francisco (we have 20 local initiatives) should have been dealt with by our representatives who can understand the details and nuances better. I am not a brain surgeon. And I am not an expert on many of these issues before me. And yet, I am one of the few people who will actually attempt to read through some of this ballot book and try to make some decisions. For anyone who cares, I'll be spending much of my weekend doing just this. But I greatly worry that this type of over-the-top-ballot box activity is turning more people off than on.