I take voting fairly seriously, so I have been doing my research for the mid-term election.

In the local judge race, I attended a conference with one of the candidates a few years and ended up eating dinner with them. I also had one very simple 2 minute appearance in front of them. My main criteria for choosing a judge is personal - will they be asshole if I have to practice in front of them. My candidate is a nice person and is bright and qualified for the position. I give the other side due credit though. Everyone in the legal community knows the candidate I am voting for is homosexual, but the opposing candidate has not made an issue of it publicly, and I don't think the public at large is aware at all.

In the governor's race, there is one candidate who has it in the bag since the beginning. They are well respected and highly praised by everyone in the state. However, their ads have been treating their campaign like a coronation rather than a contest. So to be a dick, I'm voting for the other guy.

Our Senate race is also a no-brainer, but I'm voting for the other side because this person will be headed for the national spotlight in a few years, and I want to keep their margin of victory as low as possible for whatever minimal effect that might have subsequently.

Our Congressional race to replace an outgoing Congressman is extremely tight. I'm not sure why, because we are traditionally Republican. In fact, when talking about close races, none of the national news media have picked up on the fact that the latest polls here show the candidates in a statistical dead heat. I'm not sure why either. The Republican candidate is much more experienced than his Democratic rival. He was a former State legisator and a County executive, while his opponent is a local District Attorney. I'm probably voting for the Republican, but I'm going to check his State voting record tonight. I'm not a big fan of our current state legislature. This may be a last minute thing, and I may end up tossing my vote to a third party candidate.

In other local races, I'll vote against the incumbents in the State legislature and for the incumbents in the County legislature.

I'm not certain what initiatives are on the ballot. I'll have to check the paper.

Remember to vote tomorrow. You don't have to be completely educated on everything to have an opinion that means something. Voting is for everyone, from people who never graduated from high school and can't read or write to mothers and wives to PhD's, doctors and lawyers (although there has been some talk about denying the last group the right to vote much for the same reason they as the do for convicted felons.)