Over the last several weeks the governor’s race has been a reliably interesting topic of discussion among my friends. Many (including me) started October undecided. We’ve thrashed through debates and issues over email, over dinner, and over beers. I think three different candidates are getting votes from my friends (sorry, Grace). When it was said and done, some of my friends had a hard time understanding how I can choose to leave my ballot blank in the governor’s race.

For me, voting is a personal thing. When I cast my vote, I’m putting my name behind the candidate. I’m endorsing them.

I think of voting in much the same way as economics. When I pay money for a thing or a service, I’m asking the provider to keep doing it. It’s what keeps Joe Pizza and Amazon in business. When I vote for someone, I’m rewarding them for what they’ve done and asking that person to follow through on their promises. I’m encouraging their behavior.

On this year’s ballot there are 4 candidates for governor. Two of them I strongly disagree with on issues. A third one I agree with on key points, and disagree with on other key points. The fourth is running a campaign of innuendo and slime. When your ballot looks like that, how do you choose which one to vote for? Who do you endorse? Whose behavior do you encourage?

Think about it the ballots that you have cast in the past. Did you fill in every single line? Did you ever look at a race and see only one candidate, dislike that candidate, and leave it blank as protest? Or maybe, did you ever look at a race, realize you didn’t know anything about the candidates, and leave it blank?

I will do my civic duty tomorrow with my head held high. I’ll cast votes on the ballot questions and several of the races. But for governor: none of the above.