Shrike

 

Chief Inspector Barb and I conducted the Public Test of the Tabulator this morning at the Town Hall.  Since there was a workman out in the shop, I even walked out and had him fill out a ballot.  We shut down the mock polls, checked that the machine tallied w/ the votes entered, re-zeroed the machine's count, and placed locks on the memory cards, ballot bins, printer, etc.  This ballot contains three referenda.   State-wide ballot measures aren't all that common here and yet there are three on this ballot.  Seemed strange.   When I got home I started checking on anything written about these specific referenda.  The first two are changes to amendments and are 'mandatory' meaning if they pass it will cause a change to current law.  I read articles pro/con about both of them.   The issues raised seemed, to me, more in the purview of legislators than the public at large.    Why hadn't our state  reps worked this out amongst themselves?  Really strange.  The last referendum is 'advisory' which means no matter what the vote total nothing needs to happen.  Good thing - the wording felt a bit biased.   That was odd also.  I checked further.  Finally found where some pols pushed adding these referenda  to the ballot in an effort to entice more of the 'right' kind of voter to come out and vote for their candidates also on the ballot.  Unfortunately, that part doesn't seem strange.