The Recall: Cost and Benefit

The official materials received on today's recall vote describe all the ways we can cast our ballot.

Unless I'm out-of-town or sick, I like to vote in person on Election Day (regarding today's recall vote I suppose it's "un-election" day). Going to the polling location is inefficient compared to mailing in the ballot, but many people prefer inefficient activities like attending church services, sporting events, movies, concerts, and shopping. Perhaps we derive meaning from memories of past engagements, and the emotional experience is worth the temporal cost.

Another reason to vote in person is to allow time for late-breaking data to inform one's decision, especially if one is on the fence. Your humble blogger is ambivalent on the recall: on the one hand I've never liked Gavin Newsom since the stunt he pulled as Mayor of San Francisco in 2004, on the other, I regard California's recall provision as wasteful--the Governor should be allowed four years to implement his policies, and if he does engage in egregiously bad behavior ("misconduct") he can be impeached and removed by the State Assembly and Senate..

The ballot is simple, consisting of only two boxes to be checked off: 1) Shall Gavin Newsom be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor? (Yes/No); and 2) Candidates to succeed Gavin Newsom as Governor if he is recalled, Vote for One (46 named candidates, plus a box for writing in a candidate).

As the materials in the above picture may indicate, it's harder to understand the voting process (vote by mail, drop boxes, in-person, made more confusing by the different dates these methods will be set up) than the thing we are voting on.

I'll go down to the polling place, and decide what I'm going to do there. Not that it will matter--all the polls say that Gavin Newsom is heavily favored to beat the recall. Despite the inefficiency and the unimportance of my vote, the emotional experience is worth the temporal cost.