Ok, this is a big election on November 3rd, but the main race is the presidential race.
I’m voting by mail and sending back my ballot today.
Here’s how you get vote by mail info for Chicago: https://chicagoelections.gov/en/vote-by-mail.html
You can also track the status of your ballot, and they send you an email when it is sent to you.
Voting by mail is pretty easy. And this year the decisions are pretty easy: Democrat up and down the ticket. In Chicago and Illinois in particular there are a few other questions to vote on this year as well.
Here’s a summary of my votes. Mainly, Democratic the full ballot.
President: Joe Biden/Kamala Harris
US Senator: Richard Durbin
US Rep, 7th District: Danny Davis
State Senator, 13th District: Robert Peters
State Representative, 26th District: Kam Buckner
I feel and have blogged about for a while that I think getting rid of the horrific occupants of the White House is essential. They are absolutely destructive, undermining the proper function of the country, corrupt, and have caused inordinate amounts of harm from negligence around the pandemic, among other things.
For other positions, I voted for the democratic candidates. There are a number of judge positions who aren’t running against anyone but I vote for them. Then there are about 50 other judges who just have a question about if they should be retained in office as a Cook County Circuit Court judge. I have no reason to vote against any particular person, so I voted yes for each. This is the most time consuming part to fill in those 50 bubbles.
But even if you don’t fill in those bubbles, at least please vote for the main races.
On the Amendment to the US Constitution to allow a graduated tax, I voted yes. Only 9 states have a flat tax, including Illinois. Most states have a progressive tax.
The current IL income tax rate is 4.95%. The proposed income tax brackets range from 4.75% to 7.99% – however, the only increase is over $250k income per year, and below that there is a small decrease.
A progressive tax seems more fair here, and it’s a minor amount for people with higher incomes.
Median IL household income is $63,575 and per capita income is $34,463. Again, this would only be an increase to people who are making over 7x the per-capita income and almost 4x the median household income. You can visualize the data here and read more about it here.
Other questions on the ballot: there are 3 advisory non-binding questions.
Should the City of Chicago act to ensure that all the City’s community areas have access to broadband Internet? – Yes
In creating its City-wide plan for continued growth and sustainability, should the City of Chicago place equal focus on the goals of resiliency, equity, and diversity? Yes
Should the State of Illinois restrict the sale or possession of firearms that have been defined as assault weapons or of magazines that can hold more than a certain number of rounds of ammunition? Yes