First Impressions on That Massive State Voter Guide

This week, Sara Libby and I start preparing for the weighty decisions we’ll all be asked to make in this fall’s election.

These are weighty not only because they’re important decisions, but because there are a lot of them. When you get the state’s Official Voter Information Guide in the mail this fall, you’ll see it’s a voluminous document, the size of some cities’ telephone books. The guide takes voters through the pros and cons of at least 17 different statewide ballot measures.

We go through the guide, how you can use it and offer some first impressions about the layout, writing and fun facts scattered throughout. We suggest starting a book club soon if you want to get through the whole thing by Election Day.

The guide doesn’t even include the numerous city and county ballot measures that you’ll also be asked to decide in November.

We also list our favorite things of the week. My favorite thing is a rhetorical tic that Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, has: He repeats himself for emphasis, something I’ve found that I do too. Sara’s favorite thing this week is the new HBO series “The Night Of.”