The starlings have an alarming new habit. They flock to the bird feeder, and amid their squawking and fighting they perch on my nearby sunflowers! I wouldn't care, except that my sunflowers (as you can see) are not especially robust.
Sensing a bad end, I staked up the sunflowers yesterday morning, so they'll at least remain upright. I can't keep the birds from perching on them but hopefully they won't break 'em off now.
We got a letter from our council that said, on the outside of the envelope, "DO NOT IGNORE THIS LETTER." I was afraid there was some problem with our council tax payment (local government taxes), but I opened it and found it was yet another request to update them about the voting status of people in our household. We get these requests very frequently, it seems to me, and they're quite forceful. "You are legally required to respond to this letter," it says inside. (What would happen if I didn't, I wonder?)
I have to log in to some web site and tell them that nothing has changed, that neither of us are voters in England. It's a rather strong-armed method of voter registration. In the USA, the onus of registering (and certainly voting) is pretty much on the voters, with no legal ramifications for not doing so. That has its downside too, as many people don't participate in elections.
And that, my friends, is pretty much all the news here in Lake Wobegon. It was non-stop at work yesterday, with classes coming in to check out books and lots of summer returns -- I didn't have a spare moment to read blogs or answer comments. I'll catch up, I promise, but it may take a little time!
These letters come annually to keep the electoral roll up to date. In my county if nothing has changed in the household then you don't have to take any action. I received mine a couple of weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteRachel: Interesting. I would swear ours come more often, but maybe it is annual. We have to respond no matter what -- even if there's no change.
ReplyDeleteThat letter sounds so unpleasant. I wonder if it results in more people voting or simply in more people registering.
ReplyDeleteI am extremely disappointed that you haven't yet visited my recent Fun+ blogpost where there is a freaky A.I. image of yourself.
ReplyDeleteThe onus of registering and voting is on the voters in Australia too.
ReplyDeleteI hope the sunflowers survive.
In Australia we have to be registered to vote and there is an assumption if we don't vote we will be fined. A technicality but I am in a nitpicking mood today. All we have to do is rock up and get marked off the roll. What we do after that is moot. Cast a vote, cast an informal vote or tear up the paperwork and walk out ... as long as you get marked off you don't get fined. And the fine? Peanuts.
ReplyDeleteI wish our government would send out those kinds of letters and maybe more people would vote.
ReplyDeleteI wish more people would vote in the USA. Maybe we need some sort of program like this.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you fall off the rolls if you don't respond.
ReplyDeleteI like Garisson Kiellor. He has an amazing sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very interesting voter registration process. At least they are encouraging voting instead of doing everything they can to discourage it.
ReplyDeleteI guess the Council is doing their due diligence on voter registration status. They really should have their records updated though, so they don't have to check in so often.
ReplyDeleteI haven't thought of Lake Wobegon in a long time. Now I'm wondering if Garrison Keillor is still doing the show. Time to start googling around!
even though I have a water source and a food source for the birds, this summer has been so hot and dry that they've been eating my succulents, three of them totally gone, and the new growth on the pink angel trumpet.
ReplyDeleteBring On The Olga Girl Photos
ReplyDeleteCheers
Unlike some comments above, I rather like our passive voter registration program. Those who want and do register are likely to be the ones who care about who governs over them. I would rather leave those who don't care enough to register off our rolls. I don't wish to make it difficult for them to register, I just don't want to force them to register.
ReplyDeleteI used to love Garrison Keillor but he sort of clouded my views of him with his fall from grace. Not only that, he has been very unapologetic about it all too despite the thousands of emails that he released showing his misconduct.
Lake Wobegon - lol. And then of course I went down the Garrison Keillor rabbit hole and found his entertaining story on being a poetry judge. And then down another rabbit hole on starlings, as yours looks so different from ours! I hope your sunflowers survive.
ReplyDeleteIn Arizona, we would check our voter registration monthly, just in case we'd been removed. You have to register for a party, which makes Democrats feel like a prey item. Washington, the ballots just show up in your mail after your motor-voter registration process. So easy. Mail them back! Postage paid.
ReplyDeleteStill here
ReplyDeleteI think I would like more people to vote, but would I really? I'm not too sure. I love our mail in voting system here!
ReplyDeleteIt IS a strong-arm tactic but the US voting numbers are so abysmal (I'm not sure they are even 50 percent but I could be wrong on that) that maybe that's what one needs. Of course, registering is easy; it's the doing it that needs more enforcement, (although that sounds a bit extreme!)
ReplyDeleteI have grackles in my feeder, which is fine (and no sunflowers to worry about) but seems like the little birds need it more!
That is a pretty strong armed tactic to get people to vote. But if it works- it works.
ReplyDeleteMitchell: I think that's part of what bothers me about it. It's so stern! I feel like I'm in trouble!
ReplyDeleteYP: I belatedly visited! How did I miss that?!
River: Well, it is in America too, but not to such a coercive degree.
Caro: Interesting that you can be fined! That would be unheard of in the states.
Bob: I just don't think threatening people into participating enriches Democracy!
Michael: I'd say encouraging people to vote is good, but coercing or forcing them is bad.
Boud: If that's all it is, no big deal. In fact I think that happens in the states if you don't vote within a certain period of time.
Red: I do too! I used to love that show and I read several of his books.
Sharon: Well, THAT's true! Only in some kind of dystopia would people be discouraged from voting!
Robin: He's still out there -- 81 years old now!
Ellen: It's probably hard for them to find digestible material if everything is dry and crunchy.
Padre: I will! I promise!
Ed: I agree; I don't think people should be forced to register. You don't get responsible voters that way. Encouraged, yes, but not forced.
Jenny-O: Internet rabbit holes are fascinating places! LOL! Starlings look very different from bird to bird and depending on the light, I've found.
Allison: If only voting were that easy for everyone! I'm always a little concerned I'll be taken off the rolls in Florida, but so far, so good.
John: Good!
Margaret: Ha! Yes, be careful what you ask for! LOL
Jeanie: Yeah, at the end of the day, I just don't think you can make people vote. And as Ed pointed out, the ones that don't vote you might not want to hear from anyway. How knowledgeable would they be?
Ms Moon: I guess it gets people to sign up but I'm sure they don't all appear at the polls!