Lina Hidalgo clinging to 1-pt lead against GOP's Alexandra del Moral Mealer (Houston: water heater, buying)

[SanJac]

Originally Posted by houston-nomad

I don't understand how someone can be an "independent" voter these days.

I am legitimately interested in what an INFORMED undecided voter is thinking about, if anyone wants to share.

I tend to agree with you. While there may be some true independent voters out there, we are probably overstating their importance/magnitude. It is the "undecideds" that will swing the election. Like you, I doubt they are undecided about who to vote for. Rather, they are undecided if they will vote at all. The election will come down to who can excite their base more.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by SanJac

The election will come down to who can excite their base more.

Republicans always do a great job motivating their base with fear and hate (crime, immigration)
And democrats as usual, have done a sty job (power grid, floodings, high cost of college education, mass shootings)

[SanJac]

Originally Posted by kreeyax

How's everyone voting this year? Early? Mail-in? Election day?

It looks like there's only 99 early voting locations in Harris County but 782 election day locations. Which makes me think the lines will be much quicker on election day. Last time I early voted for the primary I had to wait about 45 minutes.

I voted today. I did not like the experience, but maybe I just don't like change. The voting location I always go to changed their voting process. Maybe this has always been the process for some? They handed me two large blank sheets of paper. I had to insert one of them in the machine and hold the other as I voted on the screen. When I finished (it was a very long ballot with 100+ selections) I had to print out my results. Then I had to insert the second large piece of paper so that the vote tabulation could finish printing. Then, I had to take both sheets of paper and manually scan them in a portable scanning machine.

I don't know who came up with this method. I guess it's more secure because there are two records of your vote (hard copy and digital) but I just can't imagine how older people would not find this new voting process more cumbersome.

Every other time I've voted I either punched holes in the ballot or used a dial to electronically select my candidate. Did anybody else encounter changes at your voting location? I read online that the process varies by district and is selected by local officials.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by SanJac

I voted today. I did not like the experience, but maybe I just don't like change. The voting location I always go to changed their voting process. Maybe this has always been the process for some? They handed me two large blank sheets of paper. I had to insert one of them in the machine and hold the other as I voted on the screen. When I finished (it was a very long ballot with 100+ selections) I had to print out my results. Then I had to insert the second large piece of paper so that the vote tabulation could finish printing. Then, I had to take both sheets of paper and manually scan them in a portable scanning machine.

I don't know who came up with this method. I guess it's more secure because there are two records of your vote (hard copy and digital) but I just can't imagine how older people would not find this new voting process more cumbersome.

Every other time I've voted I either punched holes in the ballot or used a dial to electronically select my candidate. Did anybody else encounter changes at your voting location? I read online that the process varies by district and is selected by local officials.

The new machines are in use for all of Harris County. The older machines with the scroll wheel were past end of life and were replaced with the ones you used today. Lots of folks have been pushing for a prited copy of their vote that they can review to ensure their vote was properly done. Whatever. I never saw the older machines as being an issue.

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by houston-nomad

I don't understand how someone can be an "independent" voter these days.

I am legitimately interested in what an INFORMED undecided voter is thinking about, if anyone wants to share.

I'll bite, I vote for politicians from both parties and I'm planning on voting today or tomorrow. My non-negotiables right now:

- no election denialism
- no defund the police rhetoric

I still am undecided on county judge, but leaning towards one candidate. For that position - crime, flooding, and I-45 are the main three topics I'm interested in this year. I know which way I'm voting with local judges and with the statewide offices. As far as abortion goes, I don't like the current law and would like to see it changed. I believe climate change exists and will cause devastating impacts to a small proportion of the planet, and more moderate impacts to a wider proportion, but that there's zero chance of getting enough of the world's nations on board with what would really be required to slow it to the extent we wouldn't see any of those impacts - there's no point in trying to solve that with only us and Europe being the large economies that really cut emissions at a high rate. Taxes and government "personalities" are low on my list this year - they are what they are. I don't really vote based on personality as long as you can get the job done. I'm not of the opinion that anyone that I could vote for or against will make much of a difference in the economy, positive or negative, so that's low on my list this year as well. Both parties have stances/policies on immigration I consistently disagree with.

That's all I can really think of right now. There's a lot of other issues out there, but just wanted to give a snapshot on what's going through my head as I prepare to vote. It's easy to be an independent voter these days - because both parties are so terrible at policy and promote so many policies I disagree with. So you have to kind of choose the lesser of two evils, and that's a moving target that changes from election to election.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch

I'll bite, I vote for politicians from both parties and I'm planning on voting today or tomorrow. My non-negotiables right now:

- no election denialism
- no defund the police rhetoric

Those are both good ones. Ill add immigrant scapegoating and anti-LGBTQ on mine.

Here its actually not as bad as it could be. If I lived in NYC and my choices were AOC and Tina Forte, I wouldnt vote in that race.

[usc619]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch

I'll bite, I vote for politicians from both parties and I'm planning on voting today or tomorrow. My non-negotiables right now:

- no election denialism
- no defund the police rhetoric

I still am undecided on county judge, but leaning towards one candidate. For that position - crime, flooding, and I-45 are the main three topics I'm interested in this year. I know which way I'm voting with local judges and with the statewide offices. As far as abortion goes, I don't like the current law and would like to see it changed. I believe climate change exists and will cause devastating impacts to a small proportion of the planet, and more moderate impacts to a wider proportion, but that there's zero chance of getting enough of the world's nations on board with what would really be required to slow it to the extent we wouldn't see any of those impacts - there's no point in trying to solve that with only us and Europe being the large economies that really cut emissions at a high rate. Taxes and government "personalities" are low on my list this year - they are what they are. I don't really vote based on personality as long as you can get the job done. I'm not of the opinion that anyone that I could vote for or against will make much of a difference in the economy, positive or negative, so that's low on my list this year as well. Both parties have stances/policies on immigration I consistently disagree with.

That's all I can really think of right now. There's a lot of other issues out there, but just wanted to give a snapshot on what's going through my head as I prepare to vote. It's easy to be an independent voter these days - because both parties are so terrible at policy and promote so many policies I disagree with. So you have to kind of choose the lesser of two evils, and that's a moving target that changes from election to election.

Voted over the weekend…
My local choices were pretty much all Democrats with the exception of the Criminal judges.. I also voted for KP George in FT Bend county. If I were voting in Harris county…Mealer would have been my choice.

Also voted against the School tax bond…they need to put language in there stating that the money will only be used for “In Classroom Teachers”

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

Those are both good ones. Ill add immigrant scapegoating and anti-LGBTQ on mine.

Here its actually not as bad as it could be. If I lived in NYC and my choices were AOC and Tina Forte, I wouldnt vote in that race.

No, its not too bad around here to be honest, politically. Most of our local politicians on both sides are fairly reasonable people. (Just speaking on local politicians - state/national pols are a whole different story...)

I remember living in the DC area and the local politicians were a lot more unpredictable - you'd get everything from straight up communists to hard libertarians running for office up there.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by usc619

Voted over the weekend…
My local choices were pretty much all Democrats with the exception of the Criminal judges.. I also voted for KP George in FT Bend county. If I were voting in Harris county…Mealer would have been my choice.

Also voted against the School tax bond…they need to put language in there stating that the money will only be used for “In Classroom Teachers”

Bonds can't be used for classroom teachers. Bonds are used for capital improvements, like new schools, renovating older schools, but not for salaries and benefits. Teachers costs are paid out of the maintenance and operations budget, which is the bulk of the tax rate for a school district.

[usc619]

Originally Posted by WRM20

Bonds can't be used for classroom teachers. Bonds are used for capital improvements, like new schools, renovating older schools, but not for salaries and benefits. Teachers costs are paid out of the maintenance and operations budget, which is the bulk of the tax rate for a school district.

Bond, Tax rate increase, TRE, whatever you want to call it...Unless there's language saying the money will only go to the in classroom teachers, then I suggest they need to work with the money being generated by the historically high property appraisal

https://www.katyisd.org/domain/5775