It's a mandate...

well not exactly.

This is what I don't get. The unopposed people on the ballot. Why bother checking the box, they have no opposition. Why vote for them at all, it is a forgone conclusion that they are going to vote for themselves, so with no one opposing them, they will by default win.

It is a waste of ballot space and my time, to check that box.

I can hear the speeches now.

"The voters of (fill in the municipality) overwhelmingly elected me to (pick a job.) I collected 6325 votes out of 7250. I was clearly a winner."

In your own mind wind-bag. You had no one running against you. No one bothered to collect any signatures, no one else took the time to write speeches and blah, blah, blah.

Seriously is winning while running unopposed a real victory, I don't know. Maybe. I will raise my glass to you, you went to the board of elections and completed the required steps to get your name on the ballot. Good show, you can at the very least read and understand and follow directions. That puts you ahead of 99% of all Americans.

But is it a ringing endorsement of your platforms, your moral integrity, and your ability to actually perform the duties of the office you now hold. Who knows. Even running opposed and winning is no guarantee of that.

The fact remains, I refuse to mark the boxes, when you are running unopposed. It is stupid and I won't do it just because I think it is silly. If you have no opposition, why waste the BOE's time, adding you to the ballot, and my time reading the ballot and the paper it takes to record a vote, which is superfluous given you are the only one running anyway. You win. Duh! There is no contest. Even with a parking ticket, you can mark a box, mail in the loot and all is done. Why not with this insanity too. Let's just post a list on line, of people who qualify for the ballot, are running unopposed and therefore by default WIN!

If someone really had opposition to candidate A running and winning a seat, they should have gotten off their ass and jumped thru the hoops and run against them, and then I would have made a choice, between A and B. But sans there being something to choose from, exactly, I choose to abstain.

You should too!