NM Lawyer here. Under the current system, a judge can be appointed right before the general election. This doesn’t give voters enough time to review the judge’s performance and make an informed decision to vote them in. The constitutional amendment provides this period so the public can have time to determine whether to retain or not. Given your concerns, I’d vote for the amendment.

>What possible advantage to the democratic process could there be in casting a ballot before the candidates have all had the fully-allotted time to make their case for why I should vote for them?

Making sure that you actually get to vote. If something comes up, eg. illness/accident, or just standard constraints on your time, that makes it very difficult or impossible for you to vote on the final day allowed then you can't participate in the democratic process at all.

Basically, being able to vote with slightly less (and in almost all cases negligible) information about candidates is better than not voting at all.

That's the NW. In my experience, the NE gets pretty decent rainfall. Enough to fill a good supply from rooftop collectors. Of course, climate change is different from 800 years ago.

[removed]

A word of encouragement: no matter where you live, the local elections in your town have a vastly greater impact on your day-to-day than what happens at the state-level. Your vote truly matters and anyone who would try to convince you otherwise is either lying to you for their benefit or has been lied to by someone else for theirs. If there is a cause or an issue you care about, talk to the people around you, find local candidates that align with you. The smaller your town, the more effective your vote becomes there.

[removed]

[removed]

[removed]

[removed]

[removed]

[removed]

[removed]

As someone who would like to help people leave new mexico for reasons that are quite obvious, what have you done for people who wisely wish to leave the state?

Is it farolito or lumnarias?

There have also been tests that people are aided by writing down or discussing their experiences in detail while under the influence of a medicine that lowered their heart rate. It's mentioned in the podcast I mentioned in a comment. "The science of reframing, and how to do it" by anette prehn

An often overlooked part of why therapy helps is that not only are you receiving new perspectives and coping mechanisms from your therapist, you're talking about it, and essentially reliving it through that recollection, while in a safe environment

Thanks for your reply! I have been doing EMDR for about 9 months and it's been helping SO much. I've gone from repressing my trauma and having it ruin my life for 9 years to actually being able to cope. My PTSD is/was so bad that I didn't know on a conscious level that I had it. My brain completely blacked out the memory like it didn't exist and then one day it showed up. I can't agree more that EMDR is the way to go for people with trauma. I now have hope for the first time.

I registered to vote in California, but have since moved back to Illinois. Can I change my registration and vote in Illinois, even though I was sent a California ballot to my old address?

Thanks for this fantastic reply. I have a fair bit of medical knowledge but I was wondering if maybe there was something more than this that I was unaware of.

I agree with your approach, with the caveat that it should be discussed with a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist before doing so- and ideally working with said professional to do so. I'm not saying there aren't people that can take this approach without harm, but speaking from personal experience with PTSD, this would make it so much worse for me. I'm far from an expert in this field but I do think many individuals with trauma would benefit more from doing EMDR or another approach before or instead of this. I'm guessing you're suggesting this approach because it worked for you? If so, how did it go?

I'm so sorry to hear about your own experience with abuse. I feel your pain and my inbox is always open for you or anybody else who sees this and wants someone to talk to.

Thank you so much for your reply! Your knowledge on neuroplasticity and the possibility of rewiring the brain is incredibly valuable and I appreciate you taking the time to elaborate on it.

What changed?

[removed]

What situations are you referring to?

What possible advantage to the democratic process could there be in casting a ballot before the candidates have all had the fully-allotted time to make their case for why I should vote for them?

For the purposes of this question, "it helps entrench the two-party dilemma by encouraging mindless straight-ticket voting" is not a valid answer as it is in fact a restatement of the problem, not the solution.

Why wait until election day?

The same thing that happened to the Anasazi there (4 corners, northern NM) 800 years ago will happen again.

[deleted]