first off, the people behind the california official voter information site and the mailed booklet deserve a huge pat on the back for some really strong design. los angeles county could learn a lot from these folks.

anyway, because i can, i'm going to start writing about how i plan to vote on the various ballot measures, and perhaps the primary races (although i haven't decided what party's primary to vote in—i'm registered as a non-partisan).

prop. 40 would authorize $2.6 billion in bonds for natural resources conservation, state and local park acquisition and improvement, and historical and cultural resources preservation purposes. these are all extremely worthy causes, but on general principles, i'm opposed to spending money that isn't in hand. so this will get a no vote from me. (the actual cost to repay the $2.6 billion in bonds would be about $4.3 billion, or $3.2 billion in today's dollars.)

there's a vote yes on 40 site (pretty weak design). there's no specific 'vote no on 40' site, as far as i can tell. the la times says to vote yes.