<p>Kei-o-lei - that is the experience that the poll workers I recruited in the campaign had also. That is one job I have no problem finding people to do. One group who worked together several years ago insists on being scheduled together so they can have their election reunion. We provide goodie bags and have a big party at campaign headquarters after the polls close waiting for the tallies. Election day and coordinating hundreds of people is an incredible amount of work for a campaign manager but is also exciting. I met wonderful people. My least favorite job - rounding up the yard signs after the election.</p>
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<p>lol, so far NJ politics have been vastly entertaining to follow.</p>
<p>Cartera, find some local gardeners who would like free tomato stakes… They will help you to round up the signs if they are allowed to keep the loot ;)</p>
<p>Good idea. A pet peeve of mine is that when we order yard signs, the frames are included so you can’t just order the sign part and put them on last years frames.</p>
<p>I’ve agreed to round up yard signs for a friend. I don’t mind that. In fact it’s the signs I see a month later that really bug me. I guess I view the people surrounding the polling place as a form of harassment and a form of insult. Like I’m going to vote for your candidate just because I saw your sign on the way in!?</p>
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<p>That is certainly not the intent. It is more an expression of enthusiasm for the candidate. We try to place local people at the polls so you see your friends and neighbors supporting a certain candidate. For those who have not done their research or thought they didn’t care enough to vote for a particular office, seeing a respected person from the neighborhood might garner a vote. I agree that seeing complete strangers standing around is not likely to mean much.</p>
<p>I am always annoyed by those folks outside the polling door as well and agree that I bet many people who walk into the polling place uninformed vote based on those sign holders (now, that could be a positive or a negative thing - if they didn’t like their vibe, or pushyness, etc. they may vote AGAINST the person/cause)</p>
<p>My best story about the sign holders. A few years ago when my D was in high school there was a levy on the ballot for her school system. When I went to vote there was a very vocal citizen (who actually at one time held a position on the school board I think?) who stopped me and tried to tell me in his opinion why NOT to vote for the schools. He was arrogant, negative and pompous - total turn off. After voting, I went home and told my D about this guy. Furious, she marched down the street to the polling place and spent 45 mins defending her school system and challenging him on his words. Awesome. She wasn’t old enough to vote at the time, but in effect, that situation made an impression on her voting rights for a long time.</p>
<p>^^ That’s a great story about your D abasket.</p>
<p>My polling place is staffed by sweet, competent old ladies. It’s usually a very quick and pleasant process.</p>
<p>There were many “yard signs” outside my polling place but only one very earnest young man handing out cards encouraging a yes vote on a local initiative. I would have been proud to be his mama.</p>
<p>What I love about voting-- My youngest is a student at our local U. On election mornings DH and I pick him up at his place; we all go out to breakfast and discuss the things and people we are voting for, and then we go to the polling place together. He cast his first vote in the '08 predidential election. :)</p>
<p>Best campaigner ever today approached me as I walked towards polling booth. A young adult handed me a pamphlet, while saying, “Vote for my Mom.” I already intended to, but I wondered how many children she has today!</p>
<p>^ My kids did that when I ran for school board. And I won, btw.</p>
<p>BunsenBurner’s and my state is entirely vote-by-mail (there are limited polling places for disabled voters), so there is less of an issue with people campaigning outside of polling locations. Even when we had polls however, I don’t remember seeing any campaign materials other than some signs a few hundred feet away. The whole process is much easier when done by mail as one have two weeks to complete their ballot and mail it or drop it into a ballot collection box. However, It does take longer to figure out who won the election as ballots can take up to a couple of weeks to arrive back at the elections office.</p>
<p>The Booze Initiative is a proposal to do away with the State owned and operated liquor stores in Washington. Sales clerks and staff are state employees. It’s this set up that creates the nation’s highest retail liquor prices in Washington. You can buy wine and beer in supermarkets in Seattle etc., but not the hard stuff and it’s been this way forever. Before my parents retired they would take an annual car trip to Reno with friends. Even more exhilarating (LOL) to them than the slot machines was the cheap booze in Nevada. They and their friends would come home with a trunk load liquor, purchased at a fraction of the price demanded by Washington State Liquor Stores.</p>
<p>It looks like that Booze Initiative passed. I thought Ohio was the only state that had that, but it looks like there are about a dozen others if this article is correct:</p>
<p>[List</a> of alcohol laws of the United States by state - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_alcohol_laws_of_the_United_States_by_state]List”>List of alcohol laws of the United States - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>LW, an independent entity analyzed the claims made by both sides, and the conclusion was that the consumer will not see a substantial drop in liquor prices. For me, liquor can cost 10X the current prices, and I would not be bothered by that, since the only bottle of vodka in my house is the one given to us by DH’s friends years ago (I finally made a dent in it by making a few pie crusts). Sorry to sound too political, but a drunk nation is a much easier manipulated nation. Timmy boy is probably in a huge celebratory mode even though his measure seems to be failing.</p>
<p>I don’t vote, but I don’t carry a sign or a pin that said “I didn’t vote”. I hate it when people do that.</p>
<p>Bunsen, I may have read the same report that indicated that liquor prices won’t dramatically fall, since Washington intends to maintain a very high sales tax on the hard stuff.</p>
<p>I wonder what the per capita consumption levels are in Washington? My parents were purely ocassional and social drinkers. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were still unopened bottles of spirits long forgotten about in cabinets at the folks’house. I clearly remember half-full bottles sitting around for what seemed like years.</p>
<p>I think the situation with hard liquor reflected a certain arrogance on the part of the Washington state government. Liquor Board officials knew that most of the state’s population would have to drive hours to find cheaper product in neighboring states. And even Dad was fearful of bringing back “stronger” Canadian beer over the border, in the event of being pulled over by the U.S. border agents when entering the gate at Blaine.</p>