Are you Ready to Vote this November?

By Michelle Putnam, Associate Director of Research & Advocacy

My father and I have never agreed on political candidates. We’ve ruined many a Thanksgiving dinner in misguided attempts at convincing one another to swing towards the opposite end of the political spectrum. Inevitably, the good-natured ribbing leads to good-natured complaining, which escalates to good-natured shouting before ending with some good-natured pouting over a slice of pecan pie. To this day, we have never voted on the same political party ticket. Still, every Election Day one of us always calls the other with a brief reminder: “Make sure you vote!” Sure, our votes most likely cancel each other out. And yet every time, we make sure each other votes, because the point is not that one vote will change an entire election; rather, many votes preserve a democracy.

Not everyone agrees with this. A lot of people don’t vote. My uncle doesn’t vote because he hates politics (on the other hand, his wife always votes because of the exact same reason). Only a little over half of our voting-eligible population actually votes. In midterm elections, like the one coming up this November, only about 40% of voting-eligible people vote. Although, when it comes to politics, it seems that 100% of people complain. So, rather than sit on the sidelines, make sure you vote this year!

If you are registered to vote, you can double check where your polling precinct is located by visiting My Voter Page. Or, if you’ve moved or relocated, you can change your address.

If you are registered to vote and know that you will not be able to make it to your polling precinct on Election Day, you can request an absentee ballot here.

Make sure you have a current ID. You’ll need one of these forms of identification on Election Day, so plan ahead.

Registering to vote is the easy part; the hard part is learning about the candidates. Reading the newspapers, visiting a candidate’s website, or catching the candidate out on the campaign trail, are all good ways to stay current on the issues.

For those who are not yet old enough to vote, there are still ways to participate in the democratic process (besides telling your parents who they should vote for). Volunteering for a local, state, or national campaign is a great way to not only make a difference, but it can give you valuable insight into how politicians make decisions and how the media can influence voters and public opinion. Becoming a poll worker is also a great way to give back and to watch democracy in action. You can find out more about becoming a poll worker by contacting your local elections supervisor.

Just remember – no political talk over Thanksgiving dinner!