How do you feel about making election day a holiday, or requiring employers to offer time off to vote? Do you believe this would be effective in increasing voter turnout?

Thank you for pointing this out. My use of womxn is relatively new (about 1.5 years) and I am still defaulting to the habit of woman/women. This is swap or jumping around is not intentional and is part of my growth process.

As for "childless people," I use this as well to recognize that not all persons without kids by choice or circumstance do not identify as a womxn.

The complexities of language, labels, and identity are evidenced in my purposeful and accidental use of the terms you mentioned.

The primary differentiation in the community I live and work in is childfree vs childless. The others are bigger than the childfree and childless community.

>4) Q: I'm also interested in any patterns you've found e.g regional differences or personality traits of people struggling with their child free journey?

If I were a natural researcher, versus a consumer of research, this would be something I'd love to dig into. Dr. Amy Blackstone has been researching the childfree since 2008 and has great information on the group as a whole.

With that said, I am going to answer this question from my personal experience and anecdotal examples. If you are wanting more of a global answer let me know and I can get into the research and let you know.

I haven't found as much of a regional difference outside of the usual differences we see between urban, suburban, and rural areas. I believe much of this is more related to SES, association with religious organizations, educational systems, etc.

Personality traits is a FUN one--because personality itself is a fun one. My professional view is that we are shaped by all the stimuli we are exposed to throughout our lives including our generational lessons and experiences.

What I have found is those who expressly choose to be childfree (not are childfree by happenstance or childless by circumstance) have been either parent-ified as children in one way or another. This and/or seeing the struggle of parents (theirs or others) in raising children.

Which is a direct opposition from the "Leave it to Beaver" model of family. So the choice to break from that feels more "obvious." However, it isn't necessarily easier.

Another trait, is the opposite of those above and those are the "lost child" and/or one of many that have not had the pressures placed on them.

Additionally, those who are childfree and it wasn't necessarily a choice but timing and/or partnering never worked out also demonstrate one of the things the many don't understand and that is -- they never felt the internal drive to prioritize having kids.

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I'm happy to discuss more if you're interested!

Where is the initiative for mail in ballots? I live 30 minutes from the nearest town and having a ballot drop box in that town while getting groceries would actually make voting feasible, not just for me, but for much of my "community" out here that is retired and won't spend the extra gas money on a fixed income, or working with a strict schedule.

There are several aspects of it. Restriction of rights, xenophobia, crishing dissent, reduction of democracy, militarism, bigotry.

Basically the entire gop playbook.

Define fascism

Until we have tax reform on the issue, the funding will come from the same place and manner as it currently does.

CORRECTION--The research I mentioned above is not accurately cited. It is actually Richie (2014)

How can you tolerate fascists growing power year over year?

It isn't a good outcome with Abbott winning. Beto can be reasoned with. Abbott is actively stripping away rights.

Commissioner - What is your relationship to golf great Victor Hovland?

Also, as the commissioner of a Fantasy Hurricane League, how is my job different from yours?

>Thank you for your patience with my break. I'm going to keep working through this one. I love it so much and want to provide as much as I can for you and the thread.
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>3) Q: If so, please elaborate on the specific challenges or themes you find!

In addition to what I have already mentioned, persons who have chosen to be childfree and those who are childless by circumstance and now embracing life without kids is the, what feels like, constant attempts from others to "change our minds" or "pity" or "problem solving" that is forced on us in social environments.

For example, for the childless many will discuss ways they or "people they know" have been successful in conceiving and carrying to term. Tons of advice on how the childless can "fix" the "problem" of living without children.

Similarly, the childfree by choice are often faced with opinions that are based from the POV that those who do have children have chosen a "better" life.

In both of these examples, especially since these aren't uncommon or rare by any means, the receiver of these messages are fundamentally -- "you're different and we don't like it so we need to fix you" and/or "you're a bad person."

I do admit those statements are reductionistic and generalized. I also am knowledgeable of how the conscious and subconscious parts of our brain process information. The latter takes in information and does just that--simplifies it to fit into a category that activates the sympathetic nervous system or the parasympathetic nervous system (scary stimuli or safe stimuli, respectively).

So, when we think about themes and specific challenges of the childfree and childless it really is about working through the all too big question "who am I" and then "where do I fit into the world?"

Often the childfree and childless will attempt and be welcomed initially by those who love and care for them. The goal is to live as if the choice they made or that their bodies made doesn't make them different (because remember "different = bad"). So instead there is a shrinking that happens. A guilt for having different interests, more money or more time, a desire to branch out of the expected.

And as with any group that is not in the "majority" there is a loneliness that comes from feeling like the only one or somehow broken.

The latter is much more common for childless by circumstance persons but also for the childfree by choice like me who don't have a "maternal clock" or the desire to have babies. From the first stories we are told as young girls is that our bodies were MADE to have kids...and sure I have all the organs that in theory would allow me to do that so choosing not to use them in that way can, for some, feel like a betrayal.

Although there are a ton more themes, I'll finally mention religion as one of the largest forces behind the pressure to reproduce. Edin & Kefalas (2011) discussed how specifically in the Catholic faith marriage has historically been taught as "primarily procreative." Which is one of many examples of the lessons taught to "be fruitful and multiply."

How could we ever trust Beto to back off of guns when that’s been one of his top issues for years?

Trash is a city and county issue that the state government doesn’t have say in, therefor this isn’t something that someone who is running for governor can deal with.

Why did New Mexico close polling places in 2020 and force people to have to concentrate into an aggregate under the guise of Covid Safety when doing so would contribute to the exact opposite?

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That's really going to depend on the state - in Oregon SoS is second-in-line-to be Governor (it's how we got Kate Brown the first time), so it's unrealistic to make such a distinction for SoS when people are already concerned with the party of the backup governor.

What are some tips you can offer to women who have children to support their friends who are child free and dealing with societal pressure?

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> every American, no matter their race, ethnicity, or physical residence, should have more difficulty than another accessing the ballot

I think you a word

COMMISSIONER HOVLAND: To me it is more about how people act in the role. I often say election administration is not about politics, but rather good governance and customer service. Unfortunately, there have been individuals who have politicized the role and the office. In my experience, that is the exception, not the rule. I have met countless election officials across the country that are Rs and Ds, but you wouldn't know it because that takes a backseat to serving the voters.

SEC. TOULOUSE OLIVER: I think about this one a lot. On the one hand, we should not have the arbiters of elections in our country have to run on a partisan ballot and talk about their political views outside the realm of the job (I should know, because I have had to do this multiple times!) On the other hand, election someone in a non-partisan capacity or having them appointed doesn't ensure you are removing partisanship - or other bias - from the individual's approach to the work. It may even obscure it. At least in places where SOS's and other election officials are elected in a partisan election you are able to understand more about their personal values and where they are coming from.
I do believe that all election officials should sign a code of conduct or ethics in which we pledge to not bring our partisan beliefs into the election process - that we treat the political parties, their candidates, and voters equally; that we do not personally endorse or give money to any candidate on a ballot for which we are overseeing or running the election; and that we pledge to recuse ourselves in decisions that impact our own races.

COMMISSIONER HOVLAND: Absolutely! We have seen the trend over the last decade or more that Americans want options to vote. With the pandemic in 2020, we saw record numbers of Americans voting by mail and voting early. That experience will certainly expedite the trend toward Election Day being the last day for Americans to cast their ballot rather than the only day.

Should Secretary of State races be partisan?

COMMISIONER HOVLAND: Election officials around the country build safeguards throughout the process. From pre-election logic and accuracy tests to post election tabulation audits and everything in between. Check out this document for more details on some of the security measures that are used in elections. https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/electionofficials/security/Voting_System_Security_Measures_508_EAC.pdf
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