what the...?

[electricland]

Small comparison for you:

American ballot (details here)
Canadian ballot

How the hell do you ever know who you're voting for?

Comments

[texaslawchick.livejournal.com]

It depends on the precinct where you're voting. My ballot has been electronic for the last few years. Before that, there were little arrows on a punch card that were fairly straight-forward. This one is insanely complicated, but I've never really had difficulty when I've voted in either Texas or California.

[mrdankelly.livejournal.com]

Well, it's a little clearer when it's slipped into the slot, but I always check and recheck the alignment of the holes with the chads. Otherwise, yeah, yours makes much more sense.

[mickeytor.livejournal.com]

The US ballot is frightening! No wonder they have the problems they do!

Mind you, when we had our Mayoral elections here in Toronto, I knew where to put my X for the mayor - but I didn't have much (if any) information on the other cadidates. I'm ashamed to say that my vote for school trustee went to the person who's name I liked the best.

[monkeycommando.livejournal.com]

Both my ife and I, separately, used a similar criterion, although we chose the "most ethnic" name for school trustee.

And yet somehow Katmun Chun was not victorious.

[lilactime.livejournal.com]

You don't actually have to vote for school trustee if you don't want to (or if you don't have kids and haven't a clue who these people are). Your votes for mayor and local councillor will still be counted even if you leave the school trustee fields completely empty.

[wanderingaengus.livejournal.com]

It's because we're so much smarter!

[electricland.livejournal.com]

I thought that might be it.

When you make voting idiot-proof, only idiots will vote -- wait, that's not it...

[calebbullen.livejournal.com]

As previously noted the ballot in Texas is so simple... well... that even a Texan can do it.

The ballott in Illinois used to look like the american ballott above. It's a piece of cake though really because when you slide it into the slot, there's a little booklet thingy that depending on what page your on only shows which spots are applicable, so you've only got a couple places to punch at any given time and the candidates name is right next to it. Plus in Chicago, it's even easier because if you don't vote Democratic, they just throw out your ballott anyway. Crooked politics can be so blissfully simple.

[raithen.livejournal.com]

did you see jaan_quidam's latest article for TMB? Is VERY interesting. (He posts under Asim at TMB.

[raithen.livejournal.com]

oops -- that should be jaanquidam

[jdhorner.livejournal.com]

well, you don't actually vote on that ballot directly...

it gets inserted into a "viewer" if you will and THAT has the people on it where you punch through both the viewer and the card.

unless there's something i didn't read (e.g. i did not click on your "details" link)

[electricland.livejournal.com]

Apparently it was an absentee ballot, so AFAIK there was no "viewer".

Also, 2 columns of names in the guide = confusion (as per the infamous Butterfly Ballot).