Assumptions, Assumptions!

Posting from work, I just had to comment on this.

Actor has poor voting record

Arnold Schwarzenegger, labeled by polls the early leader in California's recall election, did not vote in five of the past 11 statewide elections, records revealed Monday.

[...]

The Los Angeles County registrar of voters said Schwarzenegger, who lives in Brentwood, voted in six of the statewide and presidential elections going back to 1992. He voted in the 2002 primary and the general election, which included a successful ballot initiative he sponsored on after-school programs and the re-election of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.

But the actor did not return absentee ballots for the 2000 general and primary elections after requesting them, the registrar said, meaning Schwarzenegger twice missed a chance to vote for President Bush. He did not vote in the June 1998 primary, which included a successful initiative banning bilingual education, records show.

And Schwarzenegger missed both the 1996 primary and general elections, which included the presidential campaign of Republican Bob Dole and initiatives on medical marijuana and tax increases on the wealthy. In 1996, Schwarzenegger was promoting the films "Jingle All the Way" and "Eraser" and was filming the movie "Batman & Robin."

Schwarzenegger campaign aides were researching the actor's schedule and interviewing his assistants about four 1996 and 2000 absentee ballots they said the actor requested. They said ballots are sometimes rejected or not recorded by elections officials once they are received, or his assistants could have neglected to mail them.

All valid reasons why he didn't vote. Acting obligations, state or personal employee screw-up...and one more very crucial one...

But Green Party candidate Peter Camejo said Schwarzenegger's voting record will hurt him with people who care about issues and about serious candidates. He predicted the actor would lose support as Californians begin to find out his record.

"Here's a guy who says he's going to lead, and he doesn't even have enough interest to vote. . . . Bill Simon was the same way," Camejo said. "I think voters care about whether people are serious about what they're saying."

...or he might not have seen any candidates worth voting for, you gawddamn prat. When did it become the duty of every would-be and actual politician to vote in every election he is eligble for? When did it become some sin to not vote each time? We don't have compulsory voting, man. You ASSume too much.

Posted by Drizzten at August 12, 2003 04:54 PM