As everyone already knows, this coming November 6th is election day! I do not intend to use this forum to share my own political beliefs – and honestly – personal politics have nothing to do with the steps that I am going to urge you to take in the following article.
I would like to start by saying that I believe that everyone who is legally able to vote – SHOULD! I understand that sometimes it is hard to decide who to vote for, or which way to vote on one issue or another, and I definitely understand the reasoning behind not voting if you don’t understand what exactly you believe in, or who you think would do the best job. In fact, over the summer when I registered to vote, I was extremely overwhelmed with the idea that in a few months I would need to determine who I felt would serve our country in the best possible way.
I have always known that I would start voting as soon as I was legally able to. A few days before my eighteenth birthday, I renewed my driver’s license, and registered to vote. This is the first election that I have been able to vote in since then. Along with the determination that I will always vote, I came to the conclusion that I will always be an informed voter. I cannot just fill in the bubbles on my absentee ballot randomly. I would not be doing my civic duty if I voted according to how someone’s name sounds, or for an incumbent just because.
As I mentioned, it is a daunting task to be a truly informed voter. My absentee ballot is two-sided, and has many offices and names that I had never heard of before receiving it. Even so, I am still determined to be the most informed voter that I can be, and I feel like I am on my way, and I no longer feel overwhelmed with the task. I would like to share a few of the things that have helped me to become confident in my ability to vote according to the issues that matter to me, rather than those that matter to my parents, friends, or classmates.
The first step that I took to breaking down the voting decision process was to literally break the ballot down (not physically but in my head). Minnesota has two amendments on the ballot – and I started with them because I felt that it would be easiest to gather information about amendments that would not change over the course of the next few months. The wording of the amendments, and what/who they will impact will not change before the election. This means that it was easy to find all of the information necessary to form my opinion. Even so, I did not research both amendments at the same time. I took them one by one, and did not move on to the next until I had made a decision on the first. This has made the process much easier for me. Rather than trying to focus on a two page ballot (which is impossible) I have decided to focus on one portion at a time. This means that all of my voting energy goes into one issue – and I give it my full attention until I feel that I can make a decision that I believe in.
In choosing who to vote for in the senate, congressional, and presidential races, I have chosen, for the moment to focus on forming my opinions on the issues that our country is facing right now. As soon as I have a clear idea of what my feelings are on each of the “main” issues, I plan to decide which issues are most important to me. After that I will look at each race individually, and within each race, each candidate individually. I will read public statements that they have made, I will look at their voting record, and I will thoroughly research each one.
I do not consider myself to be an “informed” voter yet, but I know that I am well on my way. I feel that when November 6th comes, I will have made the decision to vote for the candidates who best serve my beliefs, and who I think will best serve this country’s needs. Breaking down the process has been really helpful to me, and I would urge all of you to do the same. Voting does not have to be overwhelming. It can be a great way to learn more about yourself, and grow into a voting adult.
What steps do you take to become an informed voter? What does your voting process consist of?
Photo Source: www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/highway-2012/iowa-eager-c…