Who Are These People?

I've been in four different states since the current primary season has heated up and I've seen a lot of political ads.

Few of them actually addressed issues, mostly they took the time available to say why their opponent was (fill in the blank).

Part of the reason for this is that on most issues there isn't as much difference as they would like you to believe.

Nobody is campaigning to raise taxes, increase crime, lower education, or cut benefits.

Getting into the strategies to improve these things is probably more than can be expected in a TV slot so we get ads that want to plant negative opponent images and positive images of the candidate.

Unfortunately, these ads have a lot of influence on elections and for many voters it is all they will see.

Issues of course vary based on the level of the election and maybe that's part of the problem.

Someone running for school board has a real problem getting any attention during general elections.

Similarly when you show up to vote and see a list of names for offices ranging from town clerk to governor of the state, you end up going with the party you align with or the names you recognize.

It why you see so many ads aimed at name recognition, including those signs on public by-ways and lawns that simply show a candidates name.

It may become recognizable when you go to vote in a sea of unknowns.

Of course a few of us take time to know the candidates and the issues, but I'm confident in saying its a definite minority, especially when it comes to some of the myriad elected positions where we might not even know what they do.

I think its one of the reasons voter turnout is so low, much of the time we aren't sure what we are voting for.

It certainly could be simplified but it won't be.  Simple voting about actual issues wouldn't be good for many of the current candidates, just good for the people.