Living in San Diego, I’m used to receiving little pamphlets or booklets a few weeks prior to all elections. Yesterday a 165-page, letter-sized whopper arrived. I’ve lived here since 1986, and this is the largest Voter Information Guide I’ve seen. Don’t misunderstand, I appreciate living in a country with a democratic election process including secret ballots. I even like the idea of California’s Initiatives opportunities, especially when crabbing about something with “Well, we should have been able to vote on that!” Initiatives do add to the information glut, however, and this year we have 16, according to our voter Web site.

I perused the guide’s table of contents, noting that information on Proposition 65 will appear in a supplement. The title isn’t even listed in the Text of Proposed Laws. That’s why I visited the Web site, only to discover that Prop 65 is to be replaced on the ballot by a different amendment not listed in the guide.

I was surprised to read that nine counties will be using touchscreen voting systems. After last year’s debacle, Diebold’s systems were decertified, and new ones have to meet an additional 23 security measures including available source code, no electronic connections, and giving voters a paper ballot option. When the touchscreens surprised me last fall, I protested long and loud (at the poll). It’s satisfying to see San Diego has reverted to optical scan paper ballots.

The elderly poll workers assured me last year that the touchscreens were foolproof and more secure than paper. I tried to tell them that the results could be already rigged, and that I knew what I was talking about. They just stared in dismay.

I felt the same as I reached the last page of my voting guide and noted that it’s also available in six languages other than English. If I move to another country (say, about 15 miles south to Mexico where my teeny California pension would stretch four times as far) would it be O.K. to ask for a Mexican ballot printed in English? Do you think I’d get one?