I've been reading the news about how early voting has exceeded turnout records in many places and I'm eager to cast my ballot too. I'm cautiously optimistic that the election will turn out the way I want but I won't be able to rest easy until November 3 is over. No matter who wins, it won't make our country any less divided. But I still want a president in the White House whose values align with mine.

Also, beyond the presidential race, which is easy to decision on, the many down ballot propositions for California that we need to vote on require a lot of research, all of which I've done but I still am left wondering if I'm making the right choice for many of them. What I've learned over the years is that bills always start with good intentions, we vote on it because it looks like a good idea on paper, and then the unintended consequences become visible years later. How is my well-intentioned vote going to impact us in 5 years? It's so hard to tell. The sheer volume of research that's required to make an informed decision on a proposition... I just hope we're all doing our own small part to educate ourselves and not simply checking off boxes mindlessly.