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[Frumple]

TV ads have seemed to slacked off a bit where I'm at... some. Some. And tomorrow's the sixth. There's plenty of billboards and shit along the side of the roads.

We still got three or so robocalls today. Which was fairly standard volume for, like, the last month. Or two. At this point, I'd vote counter to republican just because they wouldn't stop fucking calling. If I hadn't voted some time last week, anyway. Dems had a bit of it too, but at least where I'm at the RNC or some shit had their machines running hard. Never people. Just automatic, canned calls. From morning into the night.

Frankly, political phone calls (advertising calls in general, really) should be fucking illegal. We've missed a few important calls this year because those asshats were on the line

E: Oh, and mailboxes full of junk. Don't forget the mailbox full of political junk. That's been more equitable across party lines, but gods know there's a few forests no longer existing because of that stuff. I'd swear we've trashed probably a good hundred pounds of politically charged cardboard and paper this year, and that's with absolutely zero exaggeration.

[PyroDesu]

TV ads have seemed to slacked off a bit where I'm at... some. Some. And tomorrow's the sixth. There's plenty of billboards and shit along the side of the roads.

We still got three or so robocalls today. Which was fairly standard volume for, like, the last month. Or two. At this point, I'd vote counter to republican just because they wouldn't stop fucking calling. If I hadn't voted some time last week, anyway. Dems had a bit of it too, but at least where I'm at the RNC or some shit had their machines running hard. Never people. Just automatic, canned calls. From morning into the night.

Frankly, political phone calls (advertising calls in general, really) should be fucking illegal. We've missed a few important calls this year because those asshats were on the line

Such a thing as a do not call list exists. At my place, we have not once received any kind of political, or advertising in general, call.

[SealyStar]

TV ads have seemed to slacked off a bit where I'm at... some. Some. And tomorrow's the sixth. There's plenty of billboards and shit along the side of the roads.

We still got three or so robocalls today. Which was fairly standard volume for, like, the last month. Or two. At this point, I'd vote counter to republican just because they wouldn't stop fucking calling. If I hadn't voted some time last week, anyway. Dems had a bit of it too, but at least where I'm at the RNC or some shit had their machines running hard. Never people. Just automatic, canned calls. From morning into the night.

Frankly, political phone calls (advertising calls in general, really) should be fucking illegal. We've missed a few important calls this year because those asshats were on the line

Such a thing as a do not call list exists. At my place, we have not once received any kind of political, or advertising in general, call.

I've never gotten a spam call, political or otherwise. Do they only strike landlines or something, since I only have a cell phone?

[Mephansteras]

Yeah, since cell phones often charge per usage, I think they're not allowed to target those. They do get exemption from the National Do Not Call list, though. Bastards. I don't get telemarketers anymore on my land line, but I sure get plenty of political messages on it!

Good thing I only use it for junk like that. I use my cell phone number for anything actually important.

[Euld]

I'm on the national "do not call" list and I get spammed with calls anyway :/

[Leafsnail]

Tell them you'll vote for whichever side gives you fewer calls.

[kaenneth]

Political and Religious calls are allowed under the do-not-call list. It only restricts commercial calls.

Just thank god that religious phone spam isn't a big thing.

[nenjin]

I don't get the exception for political phone calls to the DNC list. Politics is just another form of commercialism anyways, and it's not like we have 3000 choices to make when it comes to voting as it is. We have two. Really, political call centers just strike me as another way to justify spending millions on campaigns. They simply wear the mantle of elections to give them legitimacy.  And as such, to me they should be banned under the DNC just like every other money making scheme. Would the US honestly be worse off if there were less incentive to blow millions on giving these people jobs? I don't think so.

[GlyphGryph]

UGH.

I hate this stupid election stuff.

I've been looking and looking and can't find anything out about anybody. Not that anyone is even RUNNING against the incumbent for most of these positions. Seriously, how am I supposed to make an informed decision in this sort of situation? And how the hell are these elections not just random chance? How do these people actually campaign/get elected? How do people even find out about them?

Actually I don't even think my vote counts for all these people, these positions are all in neighbouring towns.

Which means I have one (just one) non-national election with more than one candidate to vote in. Sheriff.

Well, whatever.

[Aqizzar]

I've been looking and looking and can't find anything out about anybody. Not that anyone is even RUNNING against the incumbent for most of these positions. Seriously, how am I supposed to make an informed decision in this sort of situation? And how the hell are these elections not just random chance? How do these people actually campaign/get elected? How do people even find out about them?

I've wondered about that many times myself.  I had a professor of election history who freely admitted that when he goes to vote, he has absolutely no damn idea who half to two-thirds of the people on the ballot are.  There was a guy I knew who ran for Justice of the Peace in 2002, no primary no campaign bought one sign to put in front of his own polling place, and lost by sixty votes.  The honest answer is, they really don't campaign, basically nobody outside of their own personal life knows them, and they typically either think that's just fine or that they're the most important person on the face of the earth and they don't need to campaign.  Judging by the personalities I've met.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

So, guess who's already making calls for change in the Electoral College? And saying a president who wins the electoral college [and not the popular vote] is "Illegitimate"?

You guessed it; Fox.

[Frumple]

UGH. [snip]

Internet provides a lot of info, once you filter through the bullshit ad stuff. Incumbents have a voting record, which is public, if occasionally hard to actually get at, and related political history. If challengers don't have previous political positions, you can look at job history and organizational affiliations (and occasionally campaign contributions), which is again usually public if hard to find. There's a paper trail, basically -- 'net makes it a bit easier to get at these days, but there's physical records laying around... somewhere. Newspapers, court rooms, city hall etc., so forth, so on. You can put your feet on the pavement and find out yourself if you've got the time (and occasionally cash) for it. Generally you base what you can off that; see what they've done, extrapolate into the future based on it.

As for the random chance bit... yeah, more than a little, really. And campaign/get elected, well. Someone with money decides they either want a political position or want a friend (/person somewhat indebted to them) in a place of power, and then throws cash at advertising until they get enough name awareness people will vote for them. That's basically how it operates on any level besides the very, very small (and usually even then, the process is the same just on a smaller relative scale.).

Of course, that's if you're actually trying to be informed. Most folks, it's more or less like Aqi said

Though I'm not really sure what happens in situations where there's only one person running, other than victory by default barring write-ins or something. Doesn't happen very often where I'm at, at least since I've able to vote.

[GlyphGryph]

Sheriff. That's the only position I've got to vote for now, essentially.

I was, at one point, considering running myself - it can't be too hard to take some of these positions, I imagine. The problem, of course, is that a surprising number of them (like school board) are not only completely unpaid, but involve significant responsibilities that can, apparently, only occur during work hours during the work week.

THIS is where I want to see people from third parties running. I want to see them getting in on government at the ground level. I want to see them across the ballot. Building up support. And what do I have?

Nothing. Democrats, more democrats, and democrats. And one, single, "unenrolled", as the opposition for sheriff.

ARGH.

Also, I'm thinking I might start a website that's something like "WhoShouldIVoteFor.org" just to help people with these local decisions... Hmm...

Would anyone here be interested in something like that?

[Frumple]

Probably. You've already got stuff like ballotpedia and votesmart (and probably more besides), so it's not like it's not a desire.

[Nadaka]

For those local positions, look up their name in the phone book, give em a call and ask them about their political positions.