10.06.2006

revgalblogpal friday five - civic duty

As a recovering bureaucrat and former elections official, I figured I had to play this week's RevGalBlogPal Friday Five. It's been strange to see political ads on the tv here in Jersey and have NO IDEA who they're talking about. I decided to vote absentee in Oregon this fall since I'm most familiar with those candidates and isses and paid taxes there the bulk of this year. Plus if I have a home away from Novitiate, that's it.

It's also been extremely weird not to be embroiled in the pre-election bureaucratic red tape. To think that elections can happen without me!! :) In any case, let's plow into the Civic Duty Friday Five.


1) How old were you when you voted for the first time? 18 - of course!

2) What was the contest at the top of the ballot? Oddly enough I have no idea. I was just so excited to be voting. But since I was born in July 1972, I would have turned 18 in July of 1990. So that Fall would have been my first election, not a presidential year. I was going to school in Oregon but voted absentee in Maryland my first few elections. I suppose I would have voted for Governor, Congress and maybe a Senator? I remember clearly my first Presidential Election, 1992, Bill Clinton.

3) Can you walk to your polling place? Well, I'm voting absentee this year, but it doesn't make that much of a difference since Oregon has had a full vote-by-mail system for years. What I will miss though is my voting parties. For the past several years I always gathered friends together for food, conversation, and a drink or two as we debated the candidates and measures and completed our vote by mail ballots.

4) Have you ever run for public office? No, altough I grew up campaigning for my father who was a County Councilmember.

5) Have you run for office in a club or school or on a board? Does parish pastoral council count? I ran twice - lost the first time, won the second.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

It counts if it was a contest!

Anonymous said...

This was right up your alley. Interesting blog.