tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27554065.post1650664982637013843..comments2024-03-27T17:52:09.889-04:00Comments on You Might Notice a Trend: The Down-Ballot Races Matter As Much As the PresidencyPaul Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13092023794397583036noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27554065.post-67042406741051515802016-04-08T01:29:13.562-04:002016-04-08T01:29:13.562-04:00It's important to take the time to get the res...It's important to take the time to get the rest of the ballot right. That can mean knowing some details about how your election works. Like in 2010 the mayor of Oakland was decided in an "instant runoff" election for the first time, and even though Perata got the most votes, he didn't get 50% and so the second ballot choices gave us Jean Quan, who was OK on the city council, but wasn't a very good mayor. She was my second choice, and I never thought it would come down to second choices, but it did. If I had thought about it just a little more, it would have occurred to me that with multiple candidates and no prohibitive favorite (as were the previous two mayors; Ron Dellums, and Jerry Brown), it was likely that nobody would get 50% the first go, and I would have voted accordingly. Details matter.<br /><br /> -Doug in Oakland dinthebeasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12941071534250216503noreply@blogger.com