So I have this idea. In this November’s election, people go to the ballot boxes and vote for whoever they want. The same as always. However the change I want to make is that everyone who is a registered voter and who doesn’t cast a ballot will automatically cast a vote for all Republicans on their ballot. How’s that sound. Think about it for a second. Any ballot that is not cast will count as a vote for the Republican candidates. So yeah, if you intended to vote for Republicans anyway, don’t even bother showing up, it’ll register that way anyway.

All good? Seem to make sense? Of course not. So then why is the pension settlement vote working that way? Have you seen the ballot that was sent to retirees and the instructions that go with it? Here is a link to the page:

http://ripensioninfo.org/ballot-information/

Here are the instructions:

If you agree with the proposed settlement, you do not need to return the ballot. If you are opposed to the proposed settlement, you must return the ballot so it is received no later than Thursday April 3, 2014.

Yep. If you agree with the settlement, you don’t return the ballot. Or put another way, if you’re sent a ballot but never get it, you voted yes. If you forget to return your ballot with a “no” vote, you voted yes. If you have no idea what this is about and you don’t return the ballot, you voted yes. If you moved and the ballot doesn’t make it to you in time, you voted yes.

Even better, Justin earlier posted that Kathy Gregg reported 24,297 ballots were sent to retirees. I guess we’ll see if at least 12,149 ballots get returned with the “no” boxed checked.