Why abstain on the HS Project vote?

[Carl Rosenblatt]

Do the number of ballots counted equal the number of people who signed in and out?

My limited knowledge of how the voting process works is based on personal experience. Whenever I vote, I check in at a desk where someone places an "X" next to the name that I give them. Of course, I've never been asked to actually PROVE that I am who I claim to be, but that's a whole 'nother thread. I am handed a card which I carry to a semi private "booth" that occasionally has a marker sitting on a shelf. I make my selections, and walk around towards the exit where an identical desk exists, and I repeat the same process I followed upon entry. I am then instructed to place my voting card (face down of course - we wouldn't want anyone to see how I voted now would we?) into a machine that sucks it in hungrily. I then walk out to the parking lot where I'm usually (although not always) accosted by a WVN fanatic who wants me to sign up for their mailing list by divulging my e-mail address (horrors! Imagine what would happen if they sold my name to some other WVN-friendly group!). After I politely decline, I go about my business knowing that I have once again contributed to the great democratic process available to us here in the US of A.

So, if you were paying attention, you would have noticed that if you don't skip any of the steps I've outlined above (with the possible exception of the WVN fanatic dodging), then the number of ballots counted should equal the number of people who signed both in and out.

OK. Maybe the answer wasn't that straight. Sometimes, I just can't help myself.

Carl

[Steve Perlman]

My experience is the same. Moreover, I've been advised that if someone were to decide not to mark the ballot (as in a one-question ballot), he would either submit the blank ballot by inserting it into the machine (in which case it would be counted as a "blank") or else he would be required to return it to a voting-place official (in which case he would be "unchecked" as a voter and not counted as having voted). In either event, the number of voters equals the number of ballote

[Kim Reichelt]

There was actually a three vote discrepancy on the High School project vote (three fewer voters on the list than in the total count), but apparently it is accounted for by special voters who do not appear on the voter list, but are included in the vote count (e.g., they may be entitled to vote but live out of the country).

[Jeff Baron]

(Of course, if Mr. Baron were not to be such a candidate in the future, this issue would become of little consequence.)

Boy, I can't imagine how much time you and your friends here spend on something of some consequence (or not -- see understanding the school budget, closing an elementary school, multiple open meeting violations, etc.) I'm not running, move on. As a private citizen, I owe you nothing in the way of explanation. Oh wait, can't get enough of diverting attention away from the real issues facing our town, I forgot.

What about the whole expanding the board of Wayland eNews to provide balance question? Can't answer that either? Too busy retracing one guy's vote, instead. Anyway, who cares about balance on Wayland eNews....

(on the http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/sh...ad.php?333-Sos SOS discussion, or lack thereof) Here, I cite my own personal opinion only as an individual, not as moderator of the site. The purpose of this Discussion Forum is not to enable people to attack or embarrass others. It is to enable discussion of issues to further people's understanding and for neighbors to be able to help one another.

I repeat once again, so much for making this site about issues and not people. Only applies to SOS-approved people!

Thank goodness, Carl R., that WVN exists in this town. Without it, we'd just have the one-sided opinion base of the editorial board of this site and its administrator. I may agree with both sides on different issues, and disagree on other issues. I have no admiration, however, for people that pretend to be impartial and are anything but.

I get why people voted no, and I get why people voted yes. Regardless of my vote, my lack of a strong leaning one way or another remains the same because I actually take the time to hear both sides. I don't just line up one way because it is good for me. I don't just follow the direction of a group in town because I'm told to. And yes, I agreed to discuss the topic of my lack of strong position on the HS. My mistake was in agreeing to the discussion, not in failing to pick a side.

[John Flaherty]

01-31-2010 10:16 PM
Kim Reichelt
Jeff, you were really so ambivalent about the HS that you took a ballot, thought about it long and hard, and deliberately left that question blank? I'm just a little surprised, since it would seem like it was one of the most important questions ever to come before the town. And as someone who had run for School Committee, one would expect you'd have had pretty strong feelings about it one way or another, and that you wouldn't want to leave a vote like that up to everyone else to decide for you. This truly surprises me. You really decided to abstain on that one?
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Yesterday 03:34 PM
Kim Reichelt
Jeff, I'm a little confused by the idea of abstaining on that one question, because I went back and looked, and the High School question was the only one on the ballot.

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Yesterday 04:06 PM
Kim Reichelt
I remain surprised that you would want to be on SC and cast this fate to the wind.

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Today 11:17 AM
Kim Reichelt
And I hope Jeff will answer hers here. Else I can't imagine what Ben might come up with. ;-)

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Today 12:20 PM
John Flaherty
To quote Kim exactly from the 'sos' thread, "The purpose of this Discussion Forum is not to enable people to attack or embarrass others. It is to enable discussion of issues to further people's understanding and for neighbors to be able to help one another."

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Today 01:15 PM
Kim Reichelt
John, this is not about embarrassing anyone.



Of course not.

[Kim Reichelt]

John, I'm not sure how you did the quoting, because the timestamps are entirely wrong. This all started before anyone could have even imagined any, to use Don's phase, "voting ambiguity". I was surprised that Jeff would abstain. I asked Jeff about it, not to embarrass him (and apologies if it turned out that way), but because I was trying to understand his rationale. That his story seemed weird to me (to me, the act of filling out a ballot and very intentionally leaving one question blank would be something I would remember vividly) only made me more curious to understand his thinking. How could I have known where this would lead?

I am, frankly, surprised that you would be so upset at me for asking these questions, rather than being upset about the answers to them. It is not consistent with your past dogged pursuit of facts.

I appreciate Jeff's recent post on this topic, and wish it had been his original one.

I get why people voted no, and I get why people voted yes. Regardless of my vote, my lack of a strong leaning one way or another remains the same because I actually take the time to hear both sides. I don't just line up one way because it is good for me. I don't just follow the direction of a group in town because I'm told to.

That would have been the basis of a sufficient response, which would have sparked interesting discussion.