When Yes may mean Yes, but probably means No

For the record . . . I HATE ballot measures.

In my life before motherhood, I was the Voter Outreach Coordinator for the state. I worked in the Elections Office and was highly involved in elections on a non-partisan level (even though I worked for a Republican administration). It was there when I realized the craziness of ballot measures, be they referenda or initiatives (there is a difference).

An initiative is a proposal to enact a law. A referendum seeks to repeal a law before it takes effect; the electorate is asked to decide on the law just as the Legislature and governor did (from an article on California gaming ballot measures).

My frustration stems from the way ballot measures always seem to be full of double negatives and legal jargon that the average Joe can't make heads or tails of, let alone decide if they want to vote yes or no. My husband and I spent so much time talking and researching the language of certain ballot measures that our votes still canceled each other because I meant to vote no and voted yes. He knows people in his office who purposefully skipped over those particular issues because they were too confusing . . . for an attorney, they didn't even make sense!!! How is this even possible? (Please no lawyer jokes here, I'm married to one.) That aside, how do the election gods expect Joe Average, working at the drive thru at McDonalds, making $8/hour (yes I am making assumptions about people who hold low level service jobs, but insert any job that requires a high school diploma or equivalent) to vote on something that doesn't make sense to the highly educated, six figure income members of the population (now it may seem like I'm assuming that salary is directly proportional to smarts, but I know better)? The beauty of our system is that Joe Average's vote counts just as much as the highly educated person, however when it doesn't make sense to either one and no one in between, how does that help anyone???

Having been involved in drafting legislation, I know these things are riddled with attorneys. I know that members of state legislatures have legal counsel to write and advise when drafting legislation. Laws go through many drafts and committees and tweaking, but when I vote for a state legislator, I subscribe to the theory that I'm voting for the person who I think will do the best job and make the best decisions with the information they have with the best intentions for their constituents. I expect them to research the issues and use good judgment in voting. I elect someone to do that because I don't have the means to do that myself. It's not my time or season for serving in that way right now. It's their job to address the issues.

So it makes my blood boil when ballot measures come up on election day because while some people think it's a great way for people to take part, I say "Baloney!!!" Ballot measures are so twisted that people skip them all together, feel one way and vote only to find out later they should have voted the other way, or just vote all yes or all no on principle. Once again, how does this help us? I thought we lived in a representative democracy.

For the record, I politely decline to sign any petitions when approached outside Trader Joe's or place where registered voters may frequent. And it's not because I may have one to three children with me at any given time sitting patiently/screaming/fighting, I tell them I don't want to vote for anything on the ballot but candidates.