Maybe your vote doesn't matter

I've always been a big advocate of not caving in the face of preplexing voting issues. But if you're about to throw up your hands (or maybe just throw up) regarding California's upcoming election, you're not alone.

For starters, it's nearly impossible to sort out which unions are and are not endorsing the budget measures on the upcoming ballot. (If you want a good recap, click on this link.)

Then there are the fighting factions.

Some say that schools will suffer the most if voters fail to approve the raft of propositions, especially Prop 1A and Prop 1B. If the ballot measures fail, school districts will most likely take another big hit when it comes to funding. So if you think things are bad now, vote "No" and see what happens.

That plea isn't sinking in, according to many polls. A lot of people are voting no just because Legislators are asking for the voters' help after appearing to have bungled the budget beyond repair.

It's hard to fight that kind of well-deserved resentment, even though, ironically, it's the voters who might ultimately be to blame for the CA budget sinkhole, by passing the two-thirds majority rule for budgets and countless other revenue-restraining and mandatory-funding propositions.

Sadly, it might not matter. The state's probably screwed no matter which way Californians vote on May 19.

But if you ask for my opinion, anything that will keep schools from chopping programs further is worth voting for.