How I Will Vote in 2018 and Why

At least two of the three proposals are extremely important to vote on this year. I will explain why the third is also deemed important, but generally to those who are not me. This is how I intend to vote and why. Please consider and be sure to vote!

Proposal 18-1

This is to legalize marijuana for recreational use, possession, and commercializing. On the surface, "legalizing drugs" can sound like a bad thing. And for many of us, it was forced into our head how terrible and deadly it is. We may or may not need to agree on that point. Just because marijuana is "bad" does not mean it should be illegal. Alcohol is also "bad" but history shows how devastating it was when it was illegal. Alcohol can cause social harm, but it was far more harmful to make it illegal. The same is true with marijuana. Many lives are ruined due to the substance being illegal. I agree that it is a choice and lives do not need to be ruined because of it, but just like with alcohol, it is a social ill to make people's personal decisions for them. Marijuana is actually less destructive than both alcohol and tobacco. It might even take away some of the social ills of those drugs. The only reason marijuana was even illegalized to begin with was in order to pick on certain groups of people. Now, even if one does not agree or believe in any of that, there is an additional benefit. You may not care about the use or the ills of those who use it and whose lives are ruined by it, but this will generate more income for things you do care about while also not making anything worse for you. The tax will be dedicated to certain things such as schools and roads. We all know we can use better roads and education! And even if you don't want roads and education for some reason, this opens the opportunity to use other funds in other ways or to reappropriate it later. It is more money to do more social good with. I will certainly be voting YES on this proposal.

Proposal 18-2

This proposal is to adopt a special committee to determine district boundaries. For many people, this might sound a bit of a "who cares" kind of thing. Allow me to explain why it matters. The overall vote of a state is determined by the winning votes of the districts. So, if you can draw the lines so that you put every single person of one mindset in one district and then make 20 other districts made up of people from your particular opinions, you can control the state's vote such that it's 1 to 20 in your favor. Of course, if those who currently draw the lines are not those in your own favor, then your enemy has control over your vote. Your vote is extremely weakened by the method of drawing the lines. Given that it can take away the majority position on a topic, there is a very good chance that you belong to that majority and will have your vote stripped. The only time this is beneficial is when you are part of a minority of people AND you have the power to draw the lines. But even that can change like the wind. You might change your mind on some topics, not agree on all the topics of that group, or those in power might start wanting new things that you don't want. This should help restore fairness in the voting by making the districts more fairly drawn with more equal representation. I will definitely be voting YES for this proposal.

Proposal 18-3

This proposal makes registration for voting more automatic and provides easier access to absentee voting. This does not affect me nearly as much as the other two, but it does affect other people. While it is not something that affects me directly, a vote for no is simply a vote to make things harder on other people. So... why vote no unless you are trying to suppress voters? If you're trying to suppress voters, then that's called cheating. If you're trying to cheat, then should you really be one who is trying to create laws for our country? Let's leave our nation as a democracy and allow people their votes. That's the real American way. We can use our freedoms to speak openly every day of our lives (unless someone changes that by nullifying the democracy). So if you want to be heard, do it all year-round. Voter suppression is not the right way. So, even though this does not affect me directly (though perhaps indirectly), it is morally right to allow easier access to voting. In the end, it will likely benefit the majority of people since the majority of people this affects are those who are likely more financially equivalent to yourself. Few rich people worry about this and we need to ensure the non-rich (most of us) have a say as well so we can all get what we need. This is a YES for me.

To understand how to vote for the people (not just the proposition), please look at my other post: Why We Shouldn't Try for Third Party (Yet).

18-1 A proposed initiated law to authorize and legalize possession, use and cultivation of marijuana products by individuals who are at least 21 years of age and older, and commercial sales of marijuana through state-licensed retailers This proposal would: ·      Allow individuals 21 and older to purchase, possess and use marijuana and marijuana-infused edibles, and grow up to 12 marijuana plants for personal consumption. ·      Impose a 10-ounce limit for marijuana kept at residences and require amounts over 2.5 ounces be secured in locked containers. ·      Create a state licensing system for marijuana businesses and allow municipalities to ban or restrict them. ·      Permit retail sales of marijuana and edibles subject to a 10% tax, dedicated to implementation costs, clinical trials, schools, roads, and municipalities where marijuana businesses are located. ·      Change several current violations from crimes to civil infractions. Should this proposal be adopted? 18-2 A proposed constitutional amendment to establish a commission of citizens with exclusive authority to adopt district boundaries for the Michigan Senate, Michigan House of Representatives and U.S. Congress, every 10 years This proposed constitutional amendment would: ·      Create a commission of 13 registered voters randomly selected by the Secretary of State:     - 4 each who self-identify as affiliated with the 2 major political parties; and     - 5 who self-identify as unaffiliated with major political parties ·      Prohibit partisan officeholders and candidates, their employees, certain relatives, and lobbyists from serving as commissioners ·      Establish new redistricting criteria including geographically compact and contiguous districts of equal population, reflecting Michigan's diverse population and communities of interest. Districts shall not provide disproportionate advantage to political parties or candidates. ·      Require an appropriation of funds for commission operations and commissioner compensation. Should this proposal be adopted? 18-3 A proposal to authorize automatic and Election Day voter registration, no-reason absentee voting, and straight ticket voting; and add current legal requirements for military and overseas voting and post-election audits to the Michigan Constitution This proposed constitutional amendment would allow a United States citizen who is qualified to vote in Michigan to: ·      Become automatically registered to vote when applying for, updating or renewing a driver's license or state-issued personal identification card, unless the person declines. ·      Simultaneously register to vote with proof of residency and obtain a ballot during the 2-week period prior to an election, up to and including Election Day. ·      Obtain an absent voter ballot without providing a reason. ·      Cast a straight-ticket vote for all candidates of a particular political party when voting in a partisan general election. Should this proposal be adopted?