Welcome to Night Vale Elections

(A note: this blog post will make absolutely NO sense to anyone who is not familiar with the podcast "Welcome to Night Vale", which you can find for free on iTunes, and I have been really enjoying listening to of late. You are warned. This is basically something of a writing exercise, as I want to get back into the habit of posting. I also highly recommend this podcast, which I have clearly overthought.)

This year, as there aren't any major elections in my voting district, my thoughts turn instead to the mayoral elections of Night Vale, where, after the withdrawal of Mayor Pamela Winchell, two newcomers to the political scene have entered the race. First to enter the race was Hiram McDaniels, who posted his interest in joining the race on his blog this past December.

 McDaniels has some problems in his past - he was arrested for insurance fraud, falsifying identification fraud, evading arrest, and assaulting a police vehicle with fire. It is also worth stating that he has come under some criticism for his very nature: he is literally a five-headed dragon. However, despite some of the negative stereotypes for multi-headed beings, and general dragon-bashing, he has taken this fact and tried to turn it into a positive, using it as his campaign slogan: "I’m literally a five-headed dragon. Who cares!" McDaniels has a reputation for his intelligence, new ideas, and focus on youth development - both in business and physical activity. He has also expressed interest in expanding local park systems. His opposition, however, has pointed to his exchanges with corn lobbyists with concern, in fear they may try to move in on the local imaginary corn market.

Less is known about the other mayoral candidate, the Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home, who announced her candidacy this past July. While McDaniel's description is well known and circulated (a five headed dragon,18 feet tall, weighing about 3600 lbs, and with red, black, green, and yellow eyes - mostly green), the Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home tends to be always just out of your sight. However, she is regularly in touch with the media and, like McDaniels, has an active online presence, based on her internet browsing history found on your computer cache, and her requests for your wifi password. Her stated positions include some innovative new ideas for increasing school funding while still lowering taxes, as well as for simplifying the political system which she believes has become too complicated. It is also rumored that she holds critical information that the Vague, Yet Menacing, Government Agency is eager to get hold of. This information may or may not be about you.

As an editorial, at the moment I find myself leaning towards Hiram McDaniels, since I feel I know more about his policies. And, while I try not to lean on stereotypes, I can't help but feel that being a five-headed dragon may give him a unique advantage for generating new ideas which may benefit Night Vale and a fresh perspective. However, I am not yet ready to endorse him in full - he is, in some ways, the more conservative candidate - and I would like to know more of the ideas from Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home. There is something to be said for being in touch with the voting base, and based on her residency, she is certainly more familiar with the day to day goings on in Night Vale than her opposition, who clearly originates from somewhere other than our little world. 

 I am looking forwards to the rumored debate which may (or may not) occur this coming Friday, which I plan on listening to with an open mind.

Election Day Special

I am currently 27 years old. The first year I was eligible to vote in a major election was the 2004 Presidential race, between John Kerry and George W. Bush. This was also my first year in college, and I spent a good chunk of time in my first semester volunteering for the student democratic organization for John Kerry. In fact, this was where I first got to know my friend Lauren, who is getting married this weekend and for whom I am a bridesmaid. We shared a cab together going home from a very disappointing "victory rally" in Boston on election night, together. (That was also the night I had a professor of mine give me an excused absence for missing lab for purposes of attending said rally, even though he informed me that he hoped that my guy lost.) That year, I sent in my absentee ballot for voting in Maryland. Naturally, the following 3 years I did the same thing, since I was at school at the time (Brandeis!) and didn't want to go home via 8 hour bus ride to vote.

Four years later, for the 2008 Obama vs. McCain election, I was no longer in college: I was taking a gap year between college and grad school in order to work, travel, and in general get a breather from school. However, once again I sent in an absentee ballot: this time, because I spent the entire month of October (and obviously, the first week of November), volunteering my time for the York, Pennsylvania  Obama campaign. It was a fantastic experience, overall. I didn't get paid, but one of the staff gave me a free place to stay while there. I preformed quite a WIDE variety of tasks. I was acting as the assistant out of state volunteer coordinator, figuring out where best to place OTHER Maryland volunteers. I went door to door all over the county, trying to convince folks to vote for then-Senator Obama. I made phone calls, sometimes convincing folks to vote for Obama, other times searching for volunteers. I registered lots of young (and older) voters. I answered phones and questions as a receptionist for the center. I sorted through swag and signs, making sure people only took what they needed. On election day, I ran from house to house, reminding people to vote. I basically did whatever they needed extra folk for each day. And I met some great people, of course! So when Pennsylvania was awarded to Obama only very short time after polls closed at 8'o'clock, I was extremely satisfied, and extremely emotional and happy at the victory party held by staffers later that night.

The past 3 years, I've been in graduate school, and again voted in general by absentee ballot each year for the local ballot questions. But finally, FINALLY, this year, for the very first time, I was here, in Baltimore, to cast my ballot in person. Not only for the President of the United States, and for Senator and Congressman - all of whom are shoe-in democratic in my state and district - but also for a few very important ballot measures. The most pressing in my mind, of course, being for Question 6, for Maryland to be the first state by voter referendum to allow gay marriage. It also is a very carefully worded measure to protect churches and religious institutions from being forced to officiate such marriages, which I'm absolutely fine with: state shouldn't force church just as church shouldn't dictate to state. But it was extremely satisfying to vote "yes" on such an important issue, where I know my vote matters quite a bit.

I don't know how the presidential or local measure will fall out: both of these have been polling in my favor, but of course, nothing is certain until after elections are over and done with. I can only hope for the best at this point; though I also spent about two and a half hours phone banking into Virginia, where the turn out matters quite a bit more, for presidential politics.  But this year, it felt just a little more real to actually go into the voting booth and pressing the buttons. I'll be staying up to watch the polls come in with my parents (as well as the Stewart/Colbert election night stuff), then heading off to jury duty first thing tomorrow morning. Civic duties abound.

A picture from the 2008 election, while working in PA.