What I Learned from my Ballot

I have voted my 2006 general election Massachusetts absentee ballot. There are no nail biters in Massachusetts this year, but it was fun to vote for an African American candidate for governor. Also I wasn't sure that an amendment to ban gay marriage hadn't gotten on the ballot by citizens initiative some how (I know I would have heard of it but just to be sure). I learned there was no such ballot question although there were three. John Kerry advised me to vote yes on question 3 the day after I mailed the ballot back (with yes on 3 marked).

I had a choice in my vote for congressman. Michael Capuano has a competitor nominated by the socialist workers party. I voted for Capuano. In the past I have been amused to have a choice between Michael Capuano.

Oh yes and I also discovered that Kennedy is running for re-election this year. I have been following the campaign obsessively and have found no mention of him, no articles, no polls, nothing.


I marked and mailed my absentee ballot with plenty of time to spare. We Massachusetts voters now get 10 days grace just like Floridians. In 2000 it was due by 5:00 PM election day,that is, before polls closed. This made me rather irritated about Republicans talking about the right of absentee voters whose votes arrived within 10 days of election day to have their votes counted (the result of judicial activism since no such provision was in Florida electoral law) and simultaneously that all votes had to be counted 3 days before the last valid vote arrived and ... can't get started on that again (thank god I didn't have a blog in 2000).

update: There have been polls on the Massachusetts Senate race. Note the plural, there have been three.