Get serious about voting on Election Day, or let others choose for you

If predictions are correct, only a precious few Californians will have voted by the time the polls close Tuesday night.

If you’re comfortable with that, if you trust your neighbor – the one with the orange door, candy-striped awnings and nine candidate signs in the front yard – to decide who should represent you, then relax. He’s got you covered. But if you would prefer to have your own say about how the nation, state and even your city is governed, it’s time to get serious – and a lot of you already have.

Lee Lundrigan, the Stanislaus County clerk-recorder, loves elections. She notes that as of Friday, exactly 21,976 voters had already turned in their ballots. That means only 192,233 of you have yet to vote.

If you haven’t already made up your mind about the issues on the ballot, The Bee’s editorial board has spent hours interviewing candidates, judging debates, reading initiatives and researching issues. We would never presume to tell anyone how to vote, but we do make recommendations. Some readers, we have been assured, vote exactly the opposite of each. Others take our observations under consideration.

You’ll notice on our list of endorsements there are Republicans, Democrats and several whose affiliation is unknown (they’re running in nonpartisan races, so it doesn’t matter).

As we’ve pointed out before, we generally like how things are going. Our politicians – made more moderate by nonpartisan redistricting, perhaps – seem dedicated to getting things done. And our pragmatic Northern San Joaquin Valley contingent is in the forefront of that movement. We have met incumbents we didn’t like in the past, but not this go-round. All should be returned to their duties.

Of the six statewide initiatives, Proposition 1, the $7.5 billion water bond, and Proposition 2, which would create a rainy-day fund for the state, are the most deserving of your support. We’ve got to find a way to equitably allocate our state’s scarce water resources each year, and without additional storage, we worry our region will become a target for those whose supplies run short. We’ve long supported the state’s efforts to create a meaningful rainy-day fund.

The other propositions are all deeply flawed, and we recommend a no vote on all except Proposition 46. While we are keenly aware that virtually all of the advocates on both sides care more about money than anyone’s well-being, there is value in having a prescription-drug database. And if it keeps even one drugged-up driver off the road, it is worth voting for. We consider the concerns over increased cost of malpractice insurance overblown.

Locally, the most interesting race is to replace John Lazar as Turlock’s mayor. Gary Soiseth and Mike Brem are both excellent candidates, but we think Brem has the experience and vision to keep this dynamic city on track.

Oakdale is asking voters to extend its half-cent sales tax so that it can keep police officers and firefighters on the job. City leaders make a good case; this measure needs to pass this measure.

There’s a lot at stake Tuesday. You should join us in making a trip to the voting booth. Or just let your neighbor decide.

This story was originally published October 31, 2014 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Get serious about voting on Election Day, or let others choose for you."