Today is election day and there are several important propositions out there, so get off of your duffs and down to the polling place!
I have been volunteering for the “Yes On 73 Committee”. I have been pestering people on the phone all day for the last few days reminding them to get out and vote and to vote yes on 73.
73 would require parents to be given at least 48 hours notification before their minor daughter has an abortion. Yes, most of the folks working for it, including myself, are Pro-Life, but not all. There are several Pro-Choice volunteers who want to see this pass because it is a very important parent’s rights issue. It is bizarre that when schools must get a parents permission before giving an aspirin that a minor can secretly get an abortion. Many people mistakenly believe that the proposition would require a parents permission, this is not so. Unlike every other medical procedure, which all require permission, this will only make sure that the parents are notified, it will not prevent the abortion from happening. And if the girl is afraid of her parents, she can still secretly tell her reasons a judge, which is made as easy as possible for her to do, and get authorization to get the abortion without notification.
There are several other important propositions.
Prop. 74 would increase the number of years a teacher must work before gaining tenure to five years. I support this.
Prop. 75 would require unions to get members permission before spending their union dues on political contributions. I support this.
Prop. 76 would limit state budget spending t based on a sort of average of recent revenue growth. I support this.
Prop. 77 would take state congressional redistricting (which is done after every census) out of the hands of the state government and give it to a committee of retired judges. This is to try to end gerrymandering by whichever part controls the state government at the time of redistricting. I support this.
Prop. 78 and 79 are the Republican and Democratic plans to reduce costs on prescription drugs for the states poor. I honestly don’t know much about them and am not sure if I will leave them blank or just vote the party line.
Prop. 80 would re-regulate the California electrical industry. I am very much against this.
Here is the official voter information guide.
PS. You don’t have to vote. If you don’t really care about the election, or don’t know much about the propositions, don’t vote. I hate those organizations that encourage people to vote simply for the sake of voting. That is irresponsible. If you don’t care about the election don’t feel at all bad about not voting. You would be doing the right and responsible thing. My sister does not care about politics so, although I may try to get her to learn about it, I make no effort to get her to vote.
Please, if it is not a big deal to you, do not vote.
