The election system

One thing that I really do not like about the current election system is the use of "nonpartisan" elections. That is how the upcoming municipal election will be handled. What this means is that all candidates appear under one heading, regardless of their party affiliation. That means that voters do not necessarily know what the political inclinations of a candidate are just by looking at the ballot. The candidates are all listed in alphabetical order. This favors candidates whose names happen to fall earlier in the alphabet than those whose names show up later, like mine. I have seen it in previous elections, including it to a friend of mine who lost election after having been switched to a nonpartisan ballot. After having several good elections in the past, he came in last after the nonpartisan ballot put his name LAST in alphabetical order.

Now that we will have four candidates for town council, all candidates will have their names listed under a heading that instructs them to vote for TWO candidates. My last name happens to fall LAST in order of all the candidates, regardless of the fact that I filed for office early. One candidate filed the day before the deadline and another filed the last day, just before noon. Regardless of this, I will most likely be listed LAST on the ballot.

The nonpartisan election system has been known to hurt those who have names that fall in the alphabet later than other candidates and therefore later in the list of candidates. Most people don't take the time to get to know the candidates in local elections, and most local election candidates don't take the time to get known.

For those of you who are reading this and feel strongly about my candidacy, here is how to help with working within the system. When you vote for me, you CAN vote for me and JUST ME. Voting for just one person in effect gives me more than one vote, since other candidates get fewer votes with which I have to contend. If I am going to be at a disadvantage going in to the election, I might as well work within the system to encourage something to my advantage.

I truly dislike this system and wish that we would have a partisan ballot. You have to declare a party affiliation in most elections and that works fine. The municipal and county election voters and candidates are truly done a disservice by this method of ballot building.