May Day

Yesterday was polling day in the UK as the country assembled to vote on local issues, local candidates and city reforms. I received my mail in ballot from the US last Friday. My state is one of the last to vote in the primaries which means that we don't really end up counting for much as most of the votes have pretty much decided as to what candidate each party will choose for the November ballot. Still, if I ever want to move back to America (the results of this election pending) I can't in all good conscience repatriate into a government which I had no hand in choosing. I mean that is after all why I left. Among the nearly 50% of Americans whose votes were ignored in 2004, I resigned myself to another 4 years of the Bush administration. I'll be damned, I thought, if I am going to wait it out here. That's me off to London and my "I'm from a blue state" mantra falling on deaf ears ever since. Fast forward nearly 4 years and I feel obligated to participate, but feel a strange disconnect from the US at the same time. Given the absolute state of chaos surrounding the elections there, it's probably a good thing, but never the less odd to be voting on issues and people that feel foreign. So I did what any good London Lass would and voted along with the country people of my current residence choosing yesterday to fill out my ballot.

The election here showed labour having its worst election in a generation (40 years by some news source counts) and mine proved a test in creativity. I have a theory. I don't think people who have been expats for more then a certain amount of time (maybe 2 years) should vote in local elections. Unless those people work for a company from the country which they hail, work for the government or aren't really living in the country where they reside (tax, health care, job. primary residence etc). I am ashamed to admit it, but I actually voted for one Senatorial candidate because he was called after I beer that I am keen on and a Mayoral candidate because his picture on line was rather fetching. I tried, I really did. I was even reading the online voters guide whilst I coloured in the little bubbles with a #2 pencil. Frankly, I don't care if the property tax brackets change in county X or if parking for more then 2 hours in county Y results in larger fines. All I cared about were the presidential candidates, but I didn't feel like I could leave the others blank.

After popping that envelope in the mail yesterday I am sat wondering if I should have skipped it all together and hoped for the best.