Well, it is Election Day here in The States. This is the day the citizenry goes to the voting polls and casts their ballots to select our nation’s leader for the next four years. Not only are we interested in who that person turns out to be, but many other nations around the globe are also concerned about it.
I’m generally not in favor of discussing politics, but today there is no avoiding the subject.
I can’t say that I’m overly pleased with our choices of candidates. I do not have confidence in any of the candidates running for the office of President. I do not think any of them are going to be good leaders. I’m just hoping that whoever ends up in the office can avoid getting us into World War III and keep their heads should something like the Cuban Missile Crisis happen again.
I must say that I’m opposed to the electronic voting system we now have in place here in The States. I don’t really have an issue with the technology. It works well enough. My issue is with the privacy aspect.
Back in the ‘old days’ you went to the polls, you filled out a punch card or a handwritten card, it got put into a locked ballot box, then later someone else would take all those cards out of the ballot box and tally them. It was a slow, inefficient process. But your vote was anonymous. No one knew how you voted on any topic, or which candidate you voted for. Quite frankly, it isn’t anybody else’s business. If someone wants to tell you who they voted for, or their opinion on the voting topics, fine. Otherwise, no one else needed to know what you put on your ballot.
Now though, you have to show your ID, which gets scanned. You get assigned a code number that you take to the voting booth. You log on to a computer terminal and use the code you’ve been given to start the voting process. You make your selections and they get submitted for tallying when you finish. All fine, well, and good.
Except that who you voted for, and what you voted on any referendums or other issues is now tied directly to you. And that information is public knowledge. I get political mailings in both physical mail and email based on how I’ve voted. I started getting text messages on my phone as soon as I left the polls. I don’t want any of it. I’m quite capable of reading and making up my own mind without wading through a buttload of mudslinging propaganda. Of course, finding accurate, unbiased information on the candidates and issues is nigh impossible these days, but that’s a rant for another time.
As of the time I write this, the election hasn’t been decided but it looks like Donald Trump is ahead. All I ask is that whoever wins, the world isn’t significantly worse off when I wake up tomorrow.
Stay safe, and stay sane, my Hordeling.
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