Saturday, November 01, 2008

If You've Ever Wondered What An American Ballot Paper Looks Like.....

You can download one from Vermont, together with nearly 40 pages of candidates statements, here

8 pairs of candidates for President and Vice-President
6 for Congressman
7 for Governor
4 for Lieutenant Governor
3 for State Treasurer
4 for Secretary of State
3 for Auditor of Accounts
4 for Attorney General


Only 3 candidates for Auditor of Accounts. Not so glamorous as the other positions, maybe?

I notice that the sitting Congressman, Peter Welch, is standing for re-election as a Democratic/Republican. Huh?

Meanwhile, two of the candidates for governor stand out. One, Mike Bethel, because he seems to be an interesting guy "I am a 57-year old resident of Bennington living on disability income. I use a wheelchair, but I don’t consider myself disabled. Over the last several years, I have been an advocate for the poor, for children, and for working Vermonters"

The other, and the worst choice for me, would be Cris Ericson, who is standing as an independent for the US Congress and governorship and makes Sarah Palin look solid and knowledgeable. Ms Ericson wants to legalise cannabis but launches an anti-semitic rant about how certain doctors treat people and adds "Is Osama Bin
Laden laughing at Vermont in his cave? Is George Washington rolling over in his grave?"


However if I was a Vermonter I would probably do the more straightforward thing and vote for the Democrat candidate for governor, Gaye Symington.

Hat-tip : Volokh Conspiracy

4 comments:

Duncan Borrowman said...

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/18/peter-welch-vs-peter-welch/

"But that’s exactly what Vermont voters will do on Election Day, when they cast their votes for either Peter Welch, the incumbent Democratic congressman, or Peter Welch, the Republican. The unexpected match-up results from an anemic Republican primary in which the first term congressman (and proud Democrat) received enough write-in votes to secure the Republican Party’s nomination."

Roger Owen Green said...

And the ballot tastes as good as it looks. Must be the Vermont maple syrup. Yum!

Actually, VT politics is forever interesting, starting with its breakaway status from New York State to its socialist Senator.

Anonymous said...

I didn't think you were allowed to mention the 'S' word in the U.S.A.

;-)

Onlinefocus Team said...

Vermont seeems to be a special case. Bernie Sanders is an independent socialist....

Chris expresses his own views on this weblog.


I write this blog in a private capacity , but just in case I mention any elections here is a Legal Statement for the purposes of complying with electoral law: This website is published and promoted by Ron Oatham, 8 Brixham Close , Rayleigh Essex on behalf of Liberal Democrat Candidates all at 8 Brixham Close.