From the Comfort of Your Own Home

Do you think it’s the rain? It must be. Oregonians just do not want to bestir themselves. Need a cup of coffee? Drive through Starbucks or stop at one of the kiosks to be found on every corner. Need gas? Stay in your car. Someone will pump it for you. What else can you do from your car? We have the usual drive through dry cleaners, banks, libraries, dairy stores, tobacco stores (yuck), etc. We get our groceries delivered by Safeway or our local CSA. And now…best of all…we have vote by mail.

You don’t have to get wet to vote in Oregon! No standing in the rain under an umbrella waiting to get in your neighbor’s garage or the school cafeteria. No exit polling here either. [What will the pundits do?] My ballot arrived yesterday and I have already marked it and put a stamp on the envelope. The actual date of the Primary is May 20th and that is when the votes will be counted. Since the Democratic Presidential race drags on (and on and on and on) Oregon’s votes may actually count despite being one of the last primaries.

But a Presidential candidate is not all we’re voting for. Some of us who care about the environment would like to unseat the incumbent Republican senator. And several state offices of import are up for grabs. Not to mention local offices. Despite the importance of this year’s election, many are not registered to vote even though they are affected by issues like the economy and the price of gas. Some don’t care much about Politics with a capital P. As in many rural areas, there is a lot of sympathy for the War and thus McCain has many supporters in my community.

What’s going on in your community? Is your voice being heard? These are critical times.