Ignore political ads; become an issues voter: White

John White | Reno Gazette-Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Washoe registrar of voters address voting machine problems following 2018 primary election Several voting machines in Washoe County experienced problems during the June 2018 primary election.

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone ... your vote is never lost.” ― John Quincy Adams

What principle? Almost no one has time to adequately consider all the candidates.

So don't. Consider the office, not the candidate. What is the single most important issue facing the successful candidate for that office? Decide the issue and how the candidate would handle it and, then vote that issue no matter how loathsome the candidate.

There are four basic ways to vote: issue, party, friendship and bundle. Issue voters decide on one main issue relevant to the office a candidate is seeking and vote that issue. If an issue voter can't find an issue, he votes his party or “none of these,” or doesn't vote that race unless the candidate is a friend (everyone gets some “friendship votes”).

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But an issue voter never “bundle-votes.” Bundle voters consider the candidate as a whole — does she agree with me on more issues than the other guy? Bundle voting is now the norm. It shouldn't be. Citizens United allows corporations, without a candidate's knowledge or consent, to purloin an office by running disgusting negative ads. Today's media is rife with this filth, sometimes promoted by Russia. Issue voting is the best way to combat this.

Let's see how issue voting works for most offices: Substitute your own issues.

U.S. Senate and House: The issue is income taxes on the ultra-rich. The top rate was 91 percent during Eisenhower's day. Now, thanks in part to Heller and Amodei, it's down to about 36 percent. Our middle class is disappearing.

Governor, lieutenant governor, State Senate and Assembly: The issue is teacher’s unions. Teachers are underpaid but their unions are ruining our schools. Cowards would replace public schools with charter schools. Tom Jefferson deserves better.

Judicial races: The issue is retention. Vote the incumbent. Judges have no practice to resume. If there's no incumbent, vote the candidate most likely to follow precedent.

Attorney general and city attorney: Which candidate is most likely to independently apply the law?

Secretary of state, state treasurer, controller, county assessor, clerk, recorder, treasurer and public administrator: Is the office being properly run? If so vote the incumbent.

City Council, County Commission and sheriff: The issue is culture. Do we want one, or two? Neither I nor my Hispanic friends welcome undocumented immigrants. Our culture is threatened by the council's recent “friendship” resolution, by national banks that permint banking in Spanish and by ballots that permit voting in Spanish.

School board: What is the purpose of education? I favor a traditional liberal-oriented (vs. jobs-oriented) education.

Issue voters have the luxury of ignoring negative political ads while also improving Nevada.

John White is a Republican and a Reno lawyer.