I voted; have you???

This was only my second time using the new voting machines in Kentucky (we did so for the primary, but a lot of people don't vote in the primaries, so this will be many people's first time). I won't say it's easy to use (I think the old machines were better, where the ballot was laid out in front of you in big letters and you just pressed the button next to the candidate you wanted), and it takes a little longer, but it's not bad. The new ones have you scroll using a dial to select names on the screen, then press a button to make your selection. Another button is pressed to register votes. I'm not sure how well visually-impaired people can deal with the smaller type and scrolling. Another issue in this election is the v-e-r-y long ballot. We have umpteen judges running unopposed, so you have to scroll down and either choose to vote for them or not, with a major race (the Noble-Roach Supreme Court race) embedded in the middle. Also, the most important races for the county (mayoral, council, and whether to use eminent domain to wrest our water company back from big business--the latter of which I really debated but finally came down to as a 'yes') are all at the end, of course. There are so many non-partisan races that voting a straight ticket does no good at all, not that I do that as a rule.

I won't go into to how I voted per se. You all know I'm a bleeding-heart liberal and staunch Democrat (although I rather lean Green), so you could probably guess if you looked at the races. Our council-at-large was somewhat difficult, as there were four good candidates of the six, and you can only vote for three. The mayoral vote I think comes down to what you don't want rather than what you want. That was another one I debated, and I changed my vote from the primary, even.

That's all I have to say, except, no matter what side of the political spectrum you may be on, be sure to cast your own vote and participate in democracy by exercising your right as a US citizen. Remember there are people over the generations who have fought for those rights, and died for them. Don't give way to apathy.