The General Election is just around the corner, and ballots are due today, November 5th, 2019. While some ballots have already been cast there are still several which have not yet been filled out. If you just so happen to be one of those individuals who has yet to vote (or if you don’t really care much for voting or believe a local election is not worth fussing over) then I suggest you pay attention.
One of the problems is that in the U.S., we focus so much on the presidential election that we tend to forget about all other elections. According to an article published by Bustle and the results of a Pew Research Center study, “one in every six Americans who said they ‘definitely voted’ in the 2014 mid-term elections never had any record of doing so.”
It is no surprise that local polls are neglected, but in doing so people are unable to embrace the fact that local politics are more essential to their everyday lives. While the presidential election comes around only once every four years, local elections are held every year, giving people the opportunity to vote for the changes they wish to see in their communities. One of the most effective elections is taking place: the new Salt Lake City Mayor. Utah State Senator Luz Escamilla and Salt Lake City Councilwoman Erin Mendenhall are currently vying to become the next mayor of Utah’s capital city. Luz Escamilla’s policies tend to lean towards youth education, families, and small businesses while Erin Mendenhall policies lean more towards education, homeslessness, affordable housing, and environmentally friendly innovations to help make Salt Lake City a better place for people to live in. Both Erin and Luz vary on different issues facing the Salt Lake City community, but they both want for all who reside to feel safe, free, and able to thrive.
You have a voice, a right to vote, and a right to give your opinion on the goings-ons of your local community. So many of us fail to use our democratic rights, that it gets to the point that we may as well not have them. Think about the world you want to live in. Imagine the kinds of laws you want to be passed and the kinds of policies you want to see squashed. Chances are, you have a real shot at making all that happen if you stay plugged in to what’s going on in your city, your county, and your state. So get out there today and vote!