3 ms·

To me, the worst part of the Austin one is not the rather complex ballot question, but the way the answer choices are written. By choosing "For the ordinance",

To me, the worst part of the Austin one is not the rather complex ballot question, but the way the answer choices are written. By choosing "For the ordinance", you're actually voting against the ballot measure (which repeals "the ordinance"). Some people might be excited when they hear that there's a ballot measure to bring back Uber and vote "For the ordinance" without understanding that that means keep things as they are now. The options should be something more like -- "YES -- repeal the ordinance" and "NO -- keep the ordinance as is".

burkaman 10y ago
Is that actually what it means? The question asks about repealing an ordinance and replacing it with a new one. I thought "for the ordinance" meant for the new one which would also repeal the old ordinance.
- throwaway287391 10y ago
  Either of us might be right... the fact that we can't be sure without further research is exactly the problem I'm pointing out! My interpretation is based on the only use of the word "Ordinance" in the ballot question referring to the existing Ordinance on the books.
  - maxerickson 10y ago
    There is a second occurrence, "replace with an ordinance that would".
    - throwaway287391 10y ago
      Indeed, I didn't catch that. And based on some reading [1] it seems my interpretation was indeed exactly wrong. Thereby either proving my original point -- that the answers are quite confusing -- or maybe just that I'm an idiot/outlier. I'd argue it's especially confusing with the capitalized 'O' in the ballot answer and the corresponding capital O when the ballot question refers to the existing 'Ordinance', but not the replacement 'ordinance'. Crazy... To amend my original post, the answers should have been phrased more like "YES -- repeal and replace the existing ordinance" and "NO -- keep the existing ordinance". [1] http://kxan.com/2016/04/25/early-voting-begins-monday/ http://kxan.com/2016/04/25/early-voting-begins-monday/

burkaman 10y ago

Is that actually what it means? The question asks about repealing an ordinance and replacing it with a new one. I thought "for the ordinance" meant for the new one which would also repeal the old ordinance.

throwaway287391 10y ago
Either of us might be right... the fact that we can't be sure without further research is exactly the problem I'm pointing out! My interpretation is based on the only use of the word "Ordinance" in the ballot question referring to the existing Ordinance on the books.
- maxerickson 10y ago
  There is a second occurrence, "replace with an ordinance that would".
  - throwaway287391 10y ago
    Indeed, I didn't catch that. And based on some reading [1] it seems my interpretation was indeed exactly wrong. Thereby either proving my original point -- that the answers are quite confusing -- or maybe just that I'm an idiot/outlier. I'd argue it's especially confusing with the capitalized 'O' in the ballot answer and the corresponding capital O when the ballot question refers to the existing 'Ordinance', but not the replacement 'ordinance'. Crazy... To amend my original post, the answers should have been phrased more like "YES -- repeal and replace the existing ordinance" and "NO -- keep the existing ordinance". [1] http://kxan.com/2016/04/25/early-voting-begins-monday/ http://kxan.com/2016/04/25/early-voting-begins-monday/