I voted for the first time today.

[KukriKhan]

The only two things (Prop 14 and 15) I cared about are not going my way. FML. Also, this was the lowest voter turnout in California history.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...6276.htmlstory

Did anyone else choose a loser their first time?

Oh, just to clarify I didn't vote in any primaries since I registered as non partisan.

Feeling your pain, man. I can't believe Californians wanna slim down their choices for candidates to 2 nominees, Washington State style.

November will be way more interesting for we "Decline To State" type, non-partisan voters. Did you vote by mail or go to a polling place?

[Hosakawa Tito]

Voters are very, very angry, so only expect between 90 and 95 percent of Congress to be reelected.

I almost always vote anti-incumbent and have for years, for the reason quoted. The old Soviet Politburo probably had a greater incumbent turnover ratio than the Banana Republic of New York. New York is about to shut down the government due to the failure to adopt a timely budget, again. "Shutting down the government" means they'll expect me to report to work at the jail without receiving a paycheck till the budget is passed. This type of dysfunction has been going on for decades, and short of lining them up and putting a bullet in their heads...those in power, the leaders of the assembly and senate, will never agree to give up their stranglehold on the process. It's not rocket science. Check out the population shift from the highest taxed states and largest incentive not to work programs, welfare etal, *New York, California, etc.* to those with the lowest tax burden.
We can't vote them out, the game is rigged, so people are voting with their feet.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Feeling your pain, man. I can't believe Californians wanna slim down their choices for candidates to 2 nominees, Washington State style.

November will be way more interesting for we "Decline To State" type, non-partisan voters. Did you vote by mail or go to a polling place?

I chose to be a permanent vote by mail voter, but since I haven't left for college, I just took the envelope and handed it in at the polling place down the street from my house.

And yeah, that primary elimination initiative will be another nail in the dysfunctional coffin for California's government.

[Kadagar_AV]

May I ask (OP)?

Did you vote for what you believe in, or did you vote against some horror, or did you pick the lesser of two evils?

I am just trying to understand this 2 party system, where I am sure the majority of the voters do not actually agree with the majority of either party's beliefs.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

May I ask (OP)?

Did you vote for what you believe in, or did you vote against some horror, or did you pick the lesser of two evils?

I am just trying to understand this 2 party system, where I am sure the majority of the voters do not actually agree with the majority of either party's beliefs.

Think of each of the macro parties as a coalition. Republicans are not all in one political pigeonhole. There are Christian conservatives, social conservatives, small government types, nationalists, imperialists, fiscal conservatives, fiscal conservatives who're liberals on social issues...etc.

Our parties morph over time and with changes in leadership. From 1856 to 1868, the GOP was the liberal party in the USA and the Dems were the conservatives. Things shift WITHIN the parties here, not between parties as much.

[a completely inoffensive name]

May I ask (OP)?

Did you vote for what you believe in, or did you vote against some horror, or did you pick the lesser of two evils?

For prop 15 I voted for what I believed in. For prop 14 I voted against some horror. Since I was non partisan, I didnt have to choose between the lesser of two evils.

[Hosakawa Tito]

The New York shell game. Keep your eye on the pea. This is as ridiculous as the time the state sold itself Attica State Prison in 1990.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Irresponsible Debt. The sale of Attica prison is a case study in the irresponsible use of debt. The State borrowed $200 million to sell the prison to itself in 1990 and used the funds for operating expenses. Since 1990, the State has paid $242 million in debt service on the Attica debt, but due to refinancings, it still owes over $300 million in principal and interest. So the total cost of providing $200 million in one-shot budget relief in 1990 will be at least $565 million, assuming the debt is not refinanced again.

I stopped voting when I stopped taking drugs. I believe both of those acts are closely related to delusional behavior. *George Carlin*

I'm really beginning to feel like George.