Have you checked your voter registration recently?
That was a great pun, I know. You can save your applause for when I start doing stand-up. ANYWAY. I’ve been busy this week working to register people to vote, so I’m going to go ahead and continue that for a hot second here: are you registered to vote?
If yes, cool. Don’t forget to vote. If no, why not? There’s a kind of really important election coming up that will affect everyone, whether or not you choose to participate. It takes two minutes to register, and has no negative side effects!
LINKS to vote:
- The easiest site to use (that I’ve found) is https://votesaveamerica.com/ which includes voter registration, volunteer info, and candidate profiles
- Second place goes to the League of Women Voters which also has candidate info and is non-partisan
- Classic https://www.isidewith.com/ quiz if you want to know how candidates align with your opinions
Deadlines to register:
Business Insider has helpfully put together this chart of deadlines to vote in each state’s primaries, although straight off I can tell you that Ohio is wrong (actual deadline is Feb. 18) so make sure you double check. You’ll note that unfortunately some states’ deadlines have already passed, BUT you can still register to vote in the general elections on November 3.
Why vote?
Democracy only works if people participate. That’s literally the whole point. I know it can seem overwhelming to try to keep up with all the issues and breaking news, especially when you have your own issues to deal with. But unfortunately, you don’t get to opt out of politics, even if you don’t participate. You’ll still have to live with the decisions of your elected officials, and whatever their policies are on infrastructure, housing, education, healthcare, taxes, civil rights, or the environment.
Don’t forget that there’s more than a presidency at stake here: there’s also Congress and all of your state and local officials, who typically have an even bigger impact on your day-to-day lives. The president can promise funding for infrastructure development, but if your state’s governor decides he’s too cool for trains, you don’t get trains. The president can do his job and nominate candidates for Supreme Court vacancies, but if Mitch McConnell retracts his head back into his shell decides not to do his part of the job and hold hearings, you get… well.
Again. I know it can be too much to keep up with everything, and frankly for the sake of your mental well-being I don’t suggest trying to. Just try making that extra effort a couple times per year. Find a time to vote, look up the candidates and issues, and done. I personally always end up Googling people in the voting booth. Most places have some form of early voting, or absentee ballot options. Take advantage of these!
Also you’ll get a cool sticker.