My First Vote As a Citizen

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I waited until January to call the Elections Div. in my county to send me the Register to Vote form.

It had the expected questions and one which caused me some problems is a new selection: That is which party do I belong to? There were the obvious choices along with a "Decline To State" - which I checked.

As I am new and there are a few issues I am waffling on I thought I would play a safe hand in not declaring just yet. WRONG.

My Vote By Mail Application as requested arrived on Saturday along with my Registration Designation as a DTS..... also news that I would have to join one of two parties: Democratic or American Independent. My friends said they had never heard of this before and had no answers for me as they had been registered for years.

I decided not to visit a precinct on voting day as I would be too nervous and wanted to be quiet at home when I filled in my ballot - and then mail it early.
Now I wonder if I have to back up and start all over.

This is explained to me as a declining numbers of people in California who wish to commit to either party (does that send a negative message to the big guys I wonder?) I found one hapless soul in Sacramento manning the "Help To Voters" phone and she told me I would have to vote Democratic or American Independent - no choices allowed. Apparently Republicans have ok'd this move too.

Anyway I am going to call Elections today to see if I can change my Application and become a member of one party - rather than having to weasle around with what ifs.

I thought becoming a citizen was complicated.... voting seems as difficult....
and scary.

Anyone from California explain why this Decline To State has become such a huge issue and why the Republican Party has Declined to be Involved?

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@Skye cv,

News to me...it does prompt me to make a call or two....
Thanks, Skye.

1 Reply

@socalgolfguy,

Hi SoCal

Thanks - a friend in the valley sent me this because she knew I put down "Decline to state" and an editorial was in their paper this weekend.
I have no idea if Kern County plays a significant role or indicator in the whole state however. I wish I had paid more attention all the years I have been
watching election coverage. Anyway this is one couple I phoned on Saturday to see if they knew what it was all about - they didn't but at least gave me the link...

Robert Price
Decline-to-state voters will play a bigger role this year
Saturday, Jan 5 2008 8:55 PM
Last Updated: Saturday, Jan 5 2008 8:59 PM

The California primary, for all intents and purposes, officially gets under way Monday when vote-by-mail ballots, also known as absentees, go out to Kern County voters. People can start doing their civic duty, in person or by mail, immediately.

But voters who've classified themselves as independents (by checking the "decline to state" box on their registration forms) will have limited choices this time.

That's because state Republican Party officials this year decided to deny GOP primary ballots to all voters except those who are registered Republicans. So the 38,321 Kern County voters who have declined to list a party affiliation must request Democratic ballots if they want to choose one of the major-party candidates.

That limitation is more significant this year than it would have been in past years, had such a barrier been in place. The number of decline-to-state voters has steadily increased in Kern County, a trend that mirrors state and national shifts toward independence.

The number of Kern County voters declining to state a party preference has surged from 26,707 in February 2000 to 29,240 in February 2004 to 38,321 today -- a gain of nearly 50 percent over eight years. No major party can claim anything close to that.

Republicans hardly saw any gain at all during that span. Kern County has been one of the nation's fastest-growing regions over the past decade, yet Republicans are almost exactly where they were four years ago. Total county registration is up 14,000 from 2004, but Republicans added only 307 new voters during that time to hit 129,830.

Democrats haven't fared much better -- their registration total of 97,955, though up 4,000 from 2004, is only 622 higher than it was at this time eight years ago. So much for the George W. Bush effect.

It's the Declines who have claimed the biggest chunk of that registration increase, by far. Which prompts this question: Who are these people?

Surveys have suggested that, at least in California, Democratic-leaning decline-to-states outnumber Republican-leaning decline-to-states by about 12 to 15 percentage points. But "DTS" voters are also exasperatingly complicated and difficult to pin down. They are, in the truest sense, independent. Democratic leaders would be foolish to start assigning DTS votes to their ledger.

But the Republicans aren't doing themselves any favors when it comes to wooing independent votes. In fact the GOP is risking the possibility of alienating many of these Declines by barring them from asking for Republican ballots in the Feb. 5 primary. That bodes especially badly for Republicans like Rudolph Giuliani and John McCain, who appeal more to independents than other candidates.

And every Decline who asks for a Democratic ballot is that much more likely to remain Democratic come November, since general-election voters tend to feel a certain loyalty to the candidate they support in the primary.

Of the third parties, only American Independent -- a creation of the late Alabama Gov. George Wallace, not be be confused with "independent" -- will allow Declines to vote for its candidates.

The GOP may want to revisit its "Republicans only" approach to the state primary, given the likelihood that the percentage of California independents will only continue to rise. The trend is sobering: The percentage of Declines has doubled over the past 16 years, from 9.5 percent to 19.3 percent as of December.

Meanwhile, Democratic registration has dropped from 48.5 percent to 42.7 percent and Republican registration has fallen from 38.9 percent to 33.6 percent.

One thing hasn't changed, nor will it ever: All voters, regardless of party affiliation or lack thereof, can vote for anyone they choose in November. But winning those votes starts now, and "declines" are fast becoming the constituency most worth winning.

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@Skye cv,

Dumb question, Skye. Is that really you in these photos?????? Wow.

2 Replies

@Pinochet73,

Pinochet

What a lovely question - thank you. No - it's Heidi Klum - but it's fun pretending.

I often wonder how an avatar affects a poster's personae on a forum - how people react to it - favorably or otherwise - or if the owner of the avatar wishes to project an image through a motto, a verse, or a picture.

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@Pinochet73,

Pinochet73;50528 wrote:

Dumb question, Skye. Is that really you in these photos?????? Wow.

Pino, my friend, you already know she's a perfectly lovely woman. Do you need to know that she is buxom and blonde to continue to follow her posts? (J/K)

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@Skye cv,

Skye;50551 wrote:

Pinochet

What a lovely question - thank you. No - it's Heidi Klum - but it's fun pretending.

I often wonder how an avatar affects a poster's personae on a forum - how people react to it - favorably or otherwise - or if the owner of the avatar wishes to project an image through a motto, a verse, or a picture.

Yeah....I knew it was a DUMB, dang old question. Just had to ask. Does anyone real look like that? I doubt it. Definitely not that skag-hoe Hillary Clinton the Scum-Serfer.

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@Skye cv,

Please Skye do not, I beg of thee do not vote for HildaBeast. She'll steal your soul and other nasty stuff. Vote Rep, vot Dem but sob don't vote for her the Commie Brits love her why because she's like their leader. A commie to the coreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

2 Replies

@Red cv,

Red;50651 wrote:

Please Skye do not, I beg of thee do not vote for HildaBeast. She'll steal your soul and other nasty stuff. Vote Rep, vot Dem but sob don't vote for her the Commie Brits love her why because she's like their leader. A commie to the coreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Thank you, Red. She is in fact a hopeless frig'n COMMUNIST who needs to be sent to an underground gulag-mining compound in the Arctic Circle.:headbang:

0 Replies

@Skye cv,

Red, Darling! You're back, my day is complete.

1 Reply

@socalgolfguy,

forcing people to state their ideology or how they may vote before-hand almost seems unconstitutional.

1 Reply

@Fatal Freedoms,

Fatal_Freedoms;50924 wrote:

forcing people to state their ideology or how they may vote before-hand almost seems unconstitutional.

Forcing people..? Go on, please.

1 Reply

@socalgolfguy,

socalgolfguy;50926 wrote:

Forcing people..? Go on, please.

a bit of an exaggeration yes, but you get my point, right?

0 Replies

@Skye cv,

I do not know how you can force anyone to do anything, short of the threat of physical violence. Labor unions have tried to force-feed their minions for decades to vote the way that suits them (their leaders) best. But, once in the box, you're on your own, baby.

1 Reply

@socalgolfguy,

socalgolfguy;50933 wrote:

I do not know how you can force anyone to do anything, short of the threat of physical violence. Labor unions have tried to force-feed their minions for decades to vote the way that suits them (their leaders) best. But, once in the box, you're on your own, baby.

it's not that they'll force you to vote for a certain canidate but you'll definately be limited in your choices

0 Replies

@Red cv,

Red;50651 wrote:

Please Skye do not, I beg of thee do not vote for HildaBeast. She'll steal your soul and other nasty stuff. Vote Rep, vot Dem but sob don't vote for her the Commie Brits love her why because she's like their leader. A commie to the coreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

LOL Brilliant :wtf:

0 Replies

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