2008 Woodie Awards
Who threw away their vote?
John Saiz
Issue date: 10/20/03 Section: Opinion
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On October 7, 2003, I voted for Peter Miguel Camejo in the Gubernational Recall election, who was the same person I voted for in the 2002 Gubernational election. I was told by many that I "threw away" my vote, as I was told when I voted for Ralph Nader in the 2000 Presidential election. Why do I "throw away" my vote on candidates that, in the minds of the public, have no chance of winning an election? Because I thought they were the best candidates for the job.
All this talk of my "throwing away" my vote started me thinking: what is "throwing away" a vote? I mean, what about uninformed voters who cast a vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger in the election because he was funny in the only debate he chose to participate in, and showed excellent composure and control in Kindergarten Cop, resilience and determination in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and good moral character in Twins? Isn't that "throwing away" a vote? Don't get me wrong, I think Schwarzenegger is an excellent actor; there isn't one Schwarzenegger movie I've seen that I disliked. In my personal opinion, though, I feel that an actor without any political experience who turned in his $3,500 and 65-to-100 signatures on the penultimate day of the deadline is not as interested in serving the people as the only candidate who turned in 10,000 signatures on the first day of eligibility, as Camejo did.
I have nothing against informed voters who thought that Schwarzenegger was in line with their thinking, as a moderate guy who came from a difficult background, overcame hardships in his move to America, and had great ideas that would benefit Californians. If you think he's the best guy for the job based on that criteria, that's wonderful, and I applaud you in voting your conscience, as I did the same in voting for Camejo.
I also think "throwing away" a vote would be voting for candidates in an election who had formally dropped out of the race. This was the decision that 72,836 Californians made while voting for Arianna Huffington, Peter Uberroth and Bill Simon in the October 7 election. I wouldn't have anything against those Californians voting for Huffington, Uberroth and Simon as the best candidates for the job if they were actually candidates at the time. Yet I'm still the one who "threw away" my vote by voting for someone who stayed in the running through the end of the Recall process.
All this talk of my "throwing away" my vote started me thinking: what is "throwing away" a vote? I mean, what about uninformed voters who cast a vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger in the election because he was funny in the only debate he chose to participate in, and showed excellent composure and control in Kindergarten Cop, resilience and determination in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and good moral character in Twins? Isn't that "throwing away" a vote? Don't get me wrong, I think Schwarzenegger is an excellent actor; there isn't one Schwarzenegger movie I've seen that I disliked. In my personal opinion, though, I feel that an actor without any political experience who turned in his $3,500 and 65-to-100 signatures on the penultimate day of the deadline is not as interested in serving the people as the only candidate who turned in 10,000 signatures on the first day of eligibility, as Camejo did.
I have nothing against informed voters who thought that Schwarzenegger was in line with their thinking, as a moderate guy who came from a difficult background, overcame hardships in his move to America, and had great ideas that would benefit Californians. If you think he's the best guy for the job based on that criteria, that's wonderful, and I applaud you in voting your conscience, as I did the same in voting for Camejo.
I also think "throwing away" a vote would be voting for candidates in an election who had formally dropped out of the race. This was the decision that 72,836 Californians made while voting for Arianna Huffington, Peter Uberroth and Bill Simon in the October 7 election. I wouldn't have anything against those Californians voting for Huffington, Uberroth and Simon as the best candidates for the job if they were actually candidates at the time. Yet I'm still the one who "threw away" my vote by voting for someone who stayed in the running through the end of the Recall process.