2012 General Election

How I am voting in the Florida 2012 General Election. (It's a beast of a ballot!)

Offices

President and Vice President

Romney and Ryan. I was never too excited about Romney and have lately become disgusted with his campaign (e.g., the Jeep to China thing), but Obama has been terribly divisive, big-government, and opposed to God's moral law. The one thing Romney has going for him in my book is Paul Ryan, who has real ideas for helping our nation and seems to care about implementing them. I hope he can follow through as Vice President!

United States Senator

Bill Nelson. This one is a toughie for me. I think Bill Nelson has been a fair, cooperative senator during his tenure—and I don't think the same could be said for his politico opponent Connie Mack IV. On the other hand, I am strongly opposed to abortion while Bill Nelson strongly supports it. Bill Gaylor, and independent in the race, seems on point but a little to rough and inexperienced for a US Senator. If Congress was behaving normally my vote would have gone to Connie Mack just for the abortion issue, but Congress has become so politicized we need people who are willing to compromise and work with each other to solve our nation's problems. Bill Nelson therefore gets my reluctant vote.

House District 8

Richard H. Gillmor. Bill Posey lines up with me on most issues and his office did help me and my wife out with something, but he has been too hardline Republican in his tenure. From a birth certificate amendment to the Grover Norquist pledge, he has shown a lack of wisdom that is "gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere" (James 3:17). We need that kind of wisdom in Washington right now. I am not sure whether Gillmor will demonstrate it, but he shows a displeasure with both parties which puts him on the right track!

State Attorney, 18th Judicial Circuit

Phil Archer, for multiple newspaper recommendations, impressive experience, and a good platform.

State Senator

Thad Altman. His opponent, Dominic A Fallo II, doesn't seem to care much about winning. Altman by default.

Constitutional Amendments

Amendment 1

No. While I oppose any government requiring me to purchase anything just because I happen to live in its jurisdiction, the amendment is too complex and too targeted at a short-term issue. The Florida Constitution has been and may be around for quite some time, so let's keep it simple and future-proof.

Amendment 2

No. Of course I am proud of our American military and its veterans, but we don't need to give veterans every possible benefit and reward for their service. They already receive much through the VA and other laws directed specifically at them, and the benefit of this tax discount is small compared to the unfairness in the tax code that it compounds.

Amendment 3

No. This revenue limit is a solution in search of a problem and has more chance of having negative than positive effects down the road.

Amendment 4

No! Sure, I'd like to pay less property tax, but please don't do it through a super-complicated amendment that favors certain classes of people over others. We can handle this at the local government level, thanks. And my local government is pretty reasonable about how it collects and spends my money.

Amendment 5

A tentative no. I'm pretty happy with how our federal selection process works and, in a vacuum, my tendency would be to move towards it at the Florida level. Our Florida legislature, however, is a little crazy (e.g., the amendments presented to us this year) and I think this amendment is just callous retribution by our legislature on the courts for their rejection of some other amendments. In other words, while I agree with this change on principle, I don't think this is the right time for it.

Amendment 6

Yes. This amendment has two parts: (1) enshrining current law regarding public funding of abortions in the State's constitution, and (2) preventing challenges against anti-abortion laws based on the right of privacy already in the Florida constitution. Even though (1) would have no immediate effect, it is my hope that the abortion issue will eventually be handed back to the states and (1) would help make Florida a pro-life state. (2) also contributes to Florida being a pro-life state but also, and more importantly, prevents opponents of anti-abortion laws from using Florida's right of privacy against those laws. I'm all for privacy rights, but abortion is murder and that trumps privacy rights.

Amendment 8

Yes. I strongly support the Establishment Clause in the US Constitution, but the separation of church and state should end there. The current Blaine Amendment is just another case of the strict secularization of our government which I oppose.

Amendment 9

No. See Amendment 2.

Amendment 10

No. Not sure about the $50,000 exemption, but allowing local governments to raise the exemption further is a recipe for inequality: businesses with big pocketbooks could easily lobby the governments into providing higher exemptions, forcing the general public to bear more of the tax burden.

Amendment 11

No. I like the intent to give low-income seniors a tax break, but the provisions are not well-thought-out. A senior who has lived in his house for 25 years and makes $25,000/year will get the tax break, but a senior who has lived in his house for 24 years and makes $12,000/year will not. The $250,000 value limit is also not indexed to inflation. Let's not pollute our constitution with poorly-done provisions like this.

Amendment 12

No. The current system works OK—at least OK enough that it doesn't deserve a change to the Florida Constitution. This amendment seems to just be the result of an FSU dispute about Florida Student Association fees.