About three weeks ago, I signed up to spend Saturday afternoon working as an election clerk. The polling location was at the school across the street from my townhouse, and I'd be working with other people I'd met at the local Democratic Party precinct caucus. It was a lot of fun; I got to say hello to lots of people and verify their voter registrations, and I contributed to a smoothly running election. Today, I got my payroll check in the mail from Travis County for $49.50 for my efforts. I've decided to spend it all in one place; I'm using the money to fund a membership in Common Cause, a non-partisan group that works to advocate campaign reform and open, ethical government. I'll give money to campaigns again later this summer, but for now, I want to help a group that works to help the entire democratic system.
By the way, Travis County was "lucky" enough to have a monthly election somewhere in each of the first five months of the year: the special election for district 48 and its runoff, the primary and its runoff, and then the city/county elections. No runoffs there, so most of us are safe until November.
