Elections

Another reason to be exasperated with the whole Recall monolith: important, regularly scheduled elections like the mayoral election here in San Francisco, which is in less than 2 weeks, are so out of focus. I can't even get focused on it, and I'm hard-core. I predicted that rather than the recall galvanizing voters after its election, it would have the effect of disinteresting voters for quite some time, until the next statewide or national elecitons next year. This makes a hard case for those elections that are more localized and less media-driven. I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling that this important mayoral election in San Francisco will produce a record low-turnout.

One way to beat this problem is by making the election fun and friendly. My good friend Susan is just such a problem-solver. She's throwing a ballot-party next week which will be inviting a large number of her friends over to her house. Each of the invitees will be assigned an issue or candidate to research and offer recommendations to the group. We eat food, we drink, we laugh, we play games, and we also talk about important issues on the election. We leave with information and having had good times. Susan is awesome! And I look forward to being a part of this, especially to help get my own self focused on this important election. What are some other ways we can get motivated, or get others motivated?