Alachua County Voters' Nonpartisan Field Guide

We're down to the wire until the big day: November 4th. Unfortunately, a lot of folks don't realize that we'll vote on a lot more than just the Presidential candidate. I just took a look at the sample ballot for my precinct, and I think the average college-aged citizen in Gainesville has no idea what everything else means. I know I don't, and it's my goal to get educated between now and the election so that I can make an informed decision.

So let's go through a sample ballot for Alachua County, and I'll provide links along the way for your information.


First of all, here's where you can find your precinct, and here's where you can view sample ballots.

PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT

This one is getting all the attention (obviously). Take a look at the full list - I'll provide links to the candidates' web sites:

John McCain
Sarah Palin
REP

Barack Obama
Joe Biden
DEM

Gloria La Riva
Eugene Puryear
PSL (Party for Socialism and Liberation)

Chuck Baldwin
Darrell Castle
CPF (Constitution Party)

Gene Amondson
Leroy Pletten
PRO (Prohibition Party)

Bob Barr
Wayne A. Root
LBT (Libertarian Party)

Thomas Robert Stevens
Alden Link
OBJ (Objectivist Party)

James Harris
Alyson Kennedy
SWP (Socialist Workers Party)

Cynthia McKinney
Rosa Clemente
GRE (Green Party)

Alan Keyes
Brian Rohrbough
AIP (America's Independent Party)

Ralph Nader
Matt Gonzalez
ECO (Peace and Freedom Party)

Brian Moore
Stewart Alexander
SPF (Socialist Party)

Charles Jay
John Wayne Smith
BTP (Boston Tea Party)

REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS - DISTRICT 6
(Your district may be different)

Clifford B. (Cliff) Stearns (REP, Incumbent)
Tim Cunha (DEM)

Next are the County Commissioners. You can read the profiles of the incumbents at the Alachua County site. I'll also provide the links for everyone.

COUNTY COMMISSIONER - DISTRICT 1

Kevin Riordan (REP)
Mike Byerly (DEM, Incumbent)

COUNTY COMMISSIONER - DISTRICT 3

Lloyd W. Bailey, Jr. (REP)
Paula M. DeLaney (DEM, Incumbent)

COUNTY COMMISSIONER - DISTRICT 5

Ward Scott (REP)
Rodney Long (DEM)

NONPARTISAN

These are the judges. A lot of these are just questions of retention, and unless you know of someone doing something illegal, or do extensive research on their rulings, you're probably going to just vote yes. However, for your information:

JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT
Shall Justice Charles T. Wells of the Florida Supreme Court be retained in office?

DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
Shall Judge Robert T. Benton of the First District Court of Appeal be retained in office?

Shall Judge Marguerite H. Davis of the First District Court of Appeal be retained in office?

Shall Judge Joseph Lewis Jr. of the First District Court of Appeal be retained in office?

Shall Judge Ricky L. Polston of the First District Court of Appeal be retained in office? (This one's a little confusing to me, because apparently he's been named to the Florida Supreme Court.)

Shall Judge Clay Roberts of the First District Court of Appeal be retained in office?

Shall Judge William A. Van Nortwick Jr. of the First District Court of Appeal be retained in office?

COUNTY JUDGE - GROUP 2
Denise Ferrero
Lorraine H. Sherman

ALACHUA COUNTY SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT - Group 2
David T. Gildart
Todd P. Martin (incumbent; can't find a link for him)

ALACHUA COUNTY SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT - Group 4
Rob Brinkman
Mary Ann Gosa (Incumbent)
(Sorry -- can't find links for either of them).

PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

These are proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution. Here's a good summary for these amendments. It does a good job, so I'm not going to try to recreate it.

COUNTY REFERENDA

Here's another great summary, this time of the Alachua County Referenda.

MUNICIPAL

FOR or AGAINST annexation of property described in Ordinance Number 080137 of the City of Gainesville.

I'm trying to understand what this means (it relates to some property near SW 20th Ave, which is quite relevant to me). This is the legislative file and these are the meeting minutes when it was adopted by the City Commission.

Update: Apparently I don't live within Gainesville city limits. Great. Here is more information about the pro side. Is there even a con side to this?

And there you have it. Good luck on Election Day, and please feel free to post with any additional information.

Cheers,
Sam