Take a gander of this sample ballot for the November 4th elections.

Five pages long! Along with McCain/Obama and Chambliss/Martin, there are enough elected official positions up for grabs to fill an entire four pages/screens, though many are running unopposed. (Hmm…how will I ever chose who should get the Board of Ed seat in Section 2, let alone Section 8!) As David in Atlanta points out in the comments, I seem to have ignored that most of the first few pages are a collective list of all local senators and reps across the state. Still, I think the post title still applies. There’s still much to consider.

But the final page is where all the really interesting local stuff is located. That’s where you’ll find all of the strangely worded constitutional amendments, referendums and special elections. As the AJC points out on its front page this morning, the most relevant local issue is the one that could potentially rein in the power of the DeKalb CEO, who currently presides over all commission meetings and sets the agenda. But just from seeing it on the ballot, I’m sure some folks will have no clue that’s exactly what it will do. Here’s the wording…

“Shall the act be approved which provides for the presiding officer to preside over meetings of the DeKalb County Commission and for the commission to establish its own agenda for such meetings?”

If you think that DeKalb needs to be run a little more like a republic and a bit less like a pseudo-monarchy, you’ll want to vote “yes” for this one. All members of the current commission support the measure (big surprise!), including incoming CEO Burrell Ellis (real surprise!), according to the AJC article.

Perhaps next time we’ll address proposed constitutional amendment #2 (which really should be called the Beltline project resolution), regarding school districts use of tax funds for redevelopment purposes. What fun!