I voted.

And I have a few beefs about the process.

First, I suppose this is my fault for preferring the absentee ballot, but the switch away from chads has made the ballot too cumbersome. The new ballots are printed on gigantic pieces of cardstock, but the font didn't get any bigger. The layout still sucks and it is difficult to orient yourself. This year's ballot required two pages and cost a whopping 3 stamps to mail. How does this make voting accessible? It's expensive and strains the eyes.

Second, the voter's guides (yes, plural in this great state) were not organized intuitively. The candidate statements and some measures were in one booklet, some more measures in another, and there was a third booklet describing two competing measures. The second booklet was so damn thick it made a satisfying thump when dropped on the floor.

Third, not all the candidates submitted statements. A large number flooded my mailbox with junk mail. As a result, my "to flog" list has gotten longer. It now includes candidates who don't bother with statements, candidates who send junk mail (and especially those who sent junk mail but wrote no statement), and candidates who submitted statements littered with grammatical errors or failed to make their point.

Fourth, statements about measures and propositions should be concise. To the school district, I say that I don't want to flip through endless double-spaced pages wherein you tell me about every single little flaw in every school building. So there is a crack in the wall. Tell me once. Do not tell me once for every school in the district.