Tuesday, November 06, 2007

4297

I voted today

but not for this, "#1 Referendum on Substitute Senate Bill #16." I read through it (very long) several times and couldn't figure out the wording, so I skipped over it, and went to the next issue. When I got home I looked it up on the League of Women Voters website, thinking that if I had no distractions and figured out which verb went with what, I would understand it. Nope. So I read the League's summary and explanation and what would happen with a Yes, and with a No. Still don't understand (not the issue, but the wording). This isn't the first time I remember an issue being written to confuse voters--especially referenda--so the vote count is low, and then the supporters can slip it through. Still, it would be nice to know what I didn't vote for.

Update: The exterminator-guy at the coffee shop explained it to me this morning (Nov. 7). Because it dealt with touching and strippers, apparently it had been discussed at his church (Heaven forbid Lutherans would do that!). The Senate Bill would have put a few strippers out of work since fewer would have been needed if bars closed earlier (there had been some murders or assaults at various places around town where stripping was involved). However, because so many of the signatures were bogus on the petition to get it on the ballot, it was invalid, but by then the machines were set to go. No votes were even counted, and it would have cost the state about $330,000 to advertise that, so it was just left on the ballot. So Senate Bill #16 has passed (the referendum was to remove it).

No comments: