How do you manage having local, state, and federal elections at the same time?

[lightningandsnow]

In Canada, our local, provincial, and federal elections are all on different cycles.

Seriously, I'm not sure I could make an informed decision about that many people at once.

:crazy:

[Liberal Veteran]

1. Usually by staying as far away from the television as possible.

Typical primetime local broadcast includes: Theme song, 89999900009998 campaign ads, 2 minutes of show, 320000098766 campaign ads, 2 minutes of show.

[NoPasaran]

2. This is America

Making informed decisions is for foreigners!

[Angry Dragon]

3. In a week you may have many more citizens

Open up those territories . .. .

[struggle4progress]

4. Where I live, the local elections are in odd years; the state and federal in even

[csziggy]

5. You are assuming that Americans will ever bother to make informed decisions!

Silly foreigner.

Part of the reason the elections are all lumped together is to increase voter turnout. When there are just local races, often the turnout is less than 30% of the registered voters - and the percentage of American citizens registered is embarrassingly low.

The way hubby and I handle large ballots is to take the sample ballot sent out by our supervisor of elections and research the people and issues ahead of time. Here, we are allowed, if not encouraged to take our sample ballot or some sort of cheat sheet into the booth. I've heard other ares do not allow that. :wtf:

[bemildred]

6. Making informed decisions is discouraged here.

Just like voting.

[frazzled]

7. We have about 65 judicial retentions on our ballot

In addition to a slew of state races.

Local races for Mayor, City Clerk, Treasurer, Alderman in all wards of the City will take place separately on February 22. Then, if no one gets a plurality in the hot hot hot mayor's race in Chicago, there will be a runoff election in early April.