Uglyhead

Pamela and I are going to our local voting precinct over lunch to cast our ballots in today’s election. Aidan and Isabel are at Mother’s Day Out, so it will just be Ethan tagging along with us. I have made up my mind about who and what I am voting for, while Pamela is still researching a few of the candidates. The sample ballots for Walker County, Georgia can be downloaded in PDF format. I am not posting this so that I can sway you to vote my way, but rather to encourage you to exercise your rights and privileges as citizens.

PARTISAN ELECTION

In most of the contests I am primarily voting for Libertarian candidates. In the others I will vote Republican. You can read more about why I made this decision on my personal blog. Suffice it to say that the Libertarian Party, as well as the Constitution Party, most closely represents my political beliefs than that of the two major parties (though neither are spot on). And while I think that Sonny Perdue is a conservative and a gentleman, he still believes that government can “do more” rather than “do less” (i.e., limited government).

• For Governor: Garrett Michael Hayes (LP)
• For Lieutenant Governor: Allen Buckley (LP)
• For Secretary of State: Keven Madsen (LP)
• For Attorney General: Perry McQuire (RP)
• For Commissioner of Agriculture: Jack Cashin (LP)
• For Commissioner of Insurance: John W. Oxendine (RP)
• For State School Superintendent: David Chastain (LP)
• For Commissioner of Labor: Brent Brown (RP)
• For Public Service Commissioner: Kevin Cherry (LP)
• For U.S. Representative in 110th Congress From the 9th Congressional District of Georgia: Nathan Deal (RP)
• For State Senator From 53rd District: Jeff Mullis (RP)
• For State Representative in the General Assembly From 2nd District: Martin Scott (RP)

There are two other spots on the ballot for the County Board of Education, but both posts are uncontested.

NONPARTISAN ELECTION

There are thirteen nonpartisan races on my precinct’s ballot. Eleven of these are for judges and the other two are for solicitor-general and conservation supervisor positions. The only race that is contested is for Justice, Supreme Court of Georgia, between the incumbent Carol W. Hunstein and challenger Mike Wiggins. If someone can recommend a good write-in candidate, then that would be my choice. I have not seen the television ads (they do not run in our little corner of Georgia), but I hear that in the Atlanta metro area there is much mudslinging. Wiggins is the proverbial “lesser of two evils.” He may have stolen his sister’s inheritance, but Hunstein believes that disabled people are of lesser value.

PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMMENDMENTS

There are three constitutional initiatives on the ballot. The two that I am voting in the affirmative limit the use of eminent domain and protect the traditions of fishing and hunting. I am against the resolution to dedicate revenue from special motor vehicle tags, because it allows funds to be distributed to non-government entities. I believe that such fees and taxes ought to be expressly allocated to the building and maintenance of roads.

PROPOSED STATEWIDE REFERENDA

All of the referenda on the ballot deal in some way with expanding Ad Valorem and Homestead tax exemptions. I am voting against each of these, because exemptions shift the tax burden onto the remaining tax payers. I am actually opposed to any and all tax exemptions, even the ones that I currently benefit from.