Voting in America

When we vote in Australia we have Federal and State elections...and Local Concil. But if you're American you are voting for everyone and their doglet - all at the same time - from representatives in the Houses of Congress and Senate through to Local Councillors, Circuit Court Judges, Education Board members, Sheriffs and Financial managers (a la Comptroller)! And you're also voting for a whole array of constitutional amendments which Australians would have a fainting spell about - not being inclined favourably towards any constitutional amendments . It's a sea of choice! And a sea of names.  I was particularly taken with the name of a local councillor called Chuck Stump. He had that salt of the earth type of feel about him. Well that's what he looked like in the local newspaper! Check these candidates signs out!

And if you're a Spanish speaker you're in luck because all the voting materials are translated into Spanish.

I bumped into Ani Atara outside a polling booth. She was in a real quandary about who to pick. It's not quite a question of spoilt for choice - but more a question of an avalanche of choice.

And in the bigger congressional and senate pool of candidates the Republicans were picking winners from their own team - and that worked - because Republicans got into both houses with a majority.  Here's their sign...in red...it's a stand out. But what is a vote for change really where there are only two main parties? That's something American and Australian political systems have in common.

Well if the word 'change' is a stretch of interpretation...Ani Atara at least had a choice and she could rejoice in that...

And I could wear my lumberjack hat and pretend that I was a foreign correspondent preparing for winter.  Except I'm not pretending about the winter thing. Today it was 17 degrees below freezing (farenheit). I really needed those ear flaps.