Vote by mail, also known as absentee voting, starts on October 4, 2004 in California. As always, the big issues on the ballot are the propositions and are the reason why every who can should vote in every election. Are you registered? Have you received your 2 voter handbooks? Have you signed up to be a permanent absentee voter so you vote in every election?

If you are not registered, PLEASE DO SO NOW. You have until October 18, 2004 to register for this election. You must be at least 18 years or older, a US citizen and registered to vote on or before October 18, 2004 to vote in this election. If you will be 18 on November 2, election day, you can register now. You can vote if you are homeless. You can also vote if you are not in prison or on parole for a felony conviction.

To register, go to the California Secretary of State, Elections division, at:

http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/votereg1.html

or to your County registrar listed in your phone book or at:

http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections_d.htm

Please also sign up to be a permanent absentee voter so that you get your ballot in the mail in every election. Voting at home is much easier as you do not have to worry about voting on our ridiculous Tuesday election day when you probably have to work. Once you complete your ballot, you can mail it to your County registrar immediately.

You can sign up to be an absentee voter when you register now or by filling out the application on the back cover of your County booklet and mailing it immediately to the Elections Department. It must be received no later than October 26, 2004. DO NOT DELAY; SIGN UP TODAY!

If you are registered at your current address but do not have the California voter handbook describing all the propositions or the County voter handbook describing all the propositions and candidates, CALL YOUR COUNTY REGISTRAR TODAY. You are probably not registered, and YOU MUST REGISTER NOW.

As a rule of thumb, this writer, like most socialists, opposes bonds, sales taxes, gambling, prison, police, the death penalty and the military. We generally support taxing business and the rich. Instead of bonds, projects are best paid for by the progressive income tax, also known as tax the rich. The legislators need to be told to write bills to appropriate funds, that is our tax dollars, for your favorite projects.

The most important of the 15 California propositions are:

Proposition 62-No

Proposition 64-No

Proposition 66-Yes

Proposition 72-Yes

Prop 62 would destroy all the small parties in California, such as Peace & Freedom Party and the Green Party. It is very anti-democratic as it limits our choices on the ballot.

See http://www.Noon62.com

Proposition 64 limits our right to file lawsuits, in this case, unfair competition lawsuits. It is bad for consumers.

See http://www.NoonProp64.org or

http://www.electionwatchdog.org/

Proposition 66 limits the third offense in the horrifying prison-promoting three-strikes law to a violent offense. It will restore the concept of rehabilitation instead of punishment, which will save the taxpayers' money and build a much better society. See: http://www.voteyeson66.org

Proposition 72 is a healthcare initiative that broadens the availability of healthcare coverage, at a time when millions of people have no healthcare coverage and that number is increasing daily.

See: http://www.YesonProp72.com

For more information on all the ballot propositions, read your California voter handbook and see:

The California Voter website at:

http://www.calvoter.org/voter/elections/2004/index.html

For more on Peace & Freedom Party's candidates, see

http://www.peaceandfreedom2004.org