I went through all of the offices on my ballot, from President down to the park and rec district. There’s a lot to keep track of and figure out. In some of these local races the signals I’m really looking for are newspaper editorials and endorsements on their website, and also to check that the person isn’t somehow insane. I’m wary, because this probably biases me in favor of the establishment. I did find the hours of voter forums from the League of Women Voters, which is awesome, but daunting.
I’m hoping that by watching them, I’ll at least learn a bit more about what is at stake. For a lot of these smaller races, I’m not even sure how to evaluate a good candidate. They usually have a big spiel about themselves, and then a list of cool things they want to do. But often times, it doesn’t seem connected to what the job actually is. I guess the purpose is to show that they care about the same issues as you, so maybe they’ll make good choices on the committees.