New Voters?

Friday at the continuation high school.  Most of the students either bought out or just didn't show, so the classes were even smaller than normal.  It was a very peaceful day.

Unfortunately, this doesn't make for an interesting post.

It was Tuesday or Wednesday when one student started railing against politicians.  He was dissatisfied with the state of what he heard on the news.  It was too much Tiger Woods and not enough stuff that really mattered.

I asked him if he was going to vote.  No.  (Well, first I asked if he was over 18.  He was.)  He wasn't going to buy into all of that.  I told him that he could vote the idiots out of office.  He wasn't interested.

Various election subjects came up during the week.  Many of the students were mixed up about the various races.  I clarified that there was a governor's race and a race for the Senate.  (They thought Whitman, Brown, and Boxer were all in the same race.)  They had seen the ads, but I don't think they were paying attention.  And they weren't going to vote anyway...

So, I was surprised yesterday when one girl started in on who she was going to vote for.  She was really fired up.  She had one issue that she was interested in--the death penalty.  She's against, and that's her only criterion for who she's going to vote for for governor.

I stood there and let her talk.  I pointed out that there were other races as well and that she should research where those candidates stood on her issue.

I was glad that there was one student who was into this election.  It's so much better than apathy.  I don't even care if I agree with the students or not.  I just want to see them involved.

There is one thing that they are fired up about, though.  Proposition 19.  So, I was surprised when the boy sitting next to this girl told me about the evils of that proposition.  Of course, he's not registered to vote.

(I've been hearing about Proposition 19 from them for months.  Mostly, the sentiment I've heard is pro.)

It's too bad that the topic didn't come up earlier.  Those who are over 18 could have gotten registered and voted if they had only known about it before the deadline.

Campaigns

It's election time at the high school.  The "vote for me" posters were all over the place.  Some of them were running for president.  And others were running for queen.

(Prom and ASB elections at the same time?  Yikes.)

One girl came in with a tray of brownies.  (They have no lockers at the school, so they have to carry everything with them all day.)  The rest of the students begged for one.  But no.  She was saving them for 8th graders.  She was planning to bribe them to vote for her.  (They'll be 9th graders next year and part of the high school, so they get to vote in this election.)

The brownies made it safely through the period.  I wonder if her ploy is going to work.

I thought I had seen it all.  Then one girl came in wearing a campaign T-shirt.  Her picture was on the front, and underneath was written what she was running for (president).  It looked like it had been professionally done.  Wow.

(Although, now that I think about it, there is an art class that does silk screen...)

Then in the next period, a boy was wearing a T-shirt from one of her opponents.  The face on the T-shirt wasn't his, so I guess he's a friend.  Apparently, they're going all out.  That's good.  It shows they want to win.  

Ah, the end of the year.  So much fun.

Who Are You Going to Vote For?

...is what I've been hearing all day. On the one hand it's a good thing. It means that the kiddos are interested and invested. On the other, it means that I have to come up with a way of deflecting the question. Teenagers don't take deflection well.

It's not that I don't want to get into an educational discussion. I want them to think and learn. I just don't want to argue with them, and many of them do have political beliefs that are opposite of my own. Also, I don't want to turn into one of those blowhards who trumpets her opinions to the world and won't brook any dissension.

Although, it was very interesting. More often than not, when I deflected the question, the questioner (or another student in the room) then mumbled the name of the candidate that I will not and did not vote for. I found that reaction fascinating. And I had to bite my tongue not to correct them.

So, we got into other discussions. Many of them had to do with Proposition 8. The students were either confused by it ("So, a no vote means you're for it?") or they had very definite opinions about it.

And a few of them could vote. Since I was at the continuation high school, there were a few 18-year-olds. And some of them had registered. But for the most part, it was a hypothetical discussion. (Although, I did encourage them to vote in the next election when they will be old enough.)

I wonder what the discussion will be tomorrow.

Lawn Signs

I was out and about, riding in a car. I was looking at the scenery. Many houses now have those lawn signs, proclaiming to the world at large who the occupants are voting for. One house attracted my attention.

This one house had three signs on the lawn. The first sign was for a presidential candidate (the one I'm not voting for). The second sign was for a proposition (one I'm so voting against). The third sign, however, was for some local something with a candidate that I'm unfamiliar with.

Now, wasn't that nice? I no longer have to research that candidate. Because, if that person is for them, I am most definitely against.

ASB Election

Today the school was holding its ASB election for next year. I passed out the ballots in 3rd period as instructed, and the students spent some time going over them deciding ASB president, vice president, secretary, commissioner of assemblies, etc.

Unfortunately, the students did not know the students who were running. We had a senior TA in class, and she tried to describe the students running for office (one does the morning announcements). This I did not mind as she was not influencing their votes (she didn't get to vote as she won't be there next year). But her descriptions weren't helping much.

So, as one boy was trying to decide between two candidates that he did not know, the TA looked at me and said, "Can you imagine him at the polls?" I thought that was funny. The boy didn't get the joke.

The conversation turned to voting, so I asked the TA if she was 18 yet. Since she was, I asked her if she had registered to vote. I do this frequently with the seniors. Especially in a presidential election year, I encourage them to register and vote as soon as they can legally do so.

The topic turned to presidential politics at that point, but since the rest of the class won't be of voting age come November, and since the class assignment had to do with the Cold War (and it was a long assignment) I had to stop this quickly.

By the way, the senior girl had registered to vote.

My Vote

I got home from work to find two messages on the answering machine. Both political. Both for the same candidate. Yesterday I got two as well. And that just ticks me off.

I've been dutifully throwing out all the election fliers. I don't read them. I especially don't read the ones that have lots of positions on different propositions. Things that say "Voter's Guide" go into the trash fast.

DON'T TELL ME HOW TO CAST MY VOTE!

Sorry. Didn't mean to yell.

I will make up my own mind. I will vote the way I wish to vote (or not vote). I will not be dictated to.

So, basically, all political persuasion is lost on me. It only angers me. It may even convince me to vote against.