What’s scarier than Halloween? Giving others the power to determine your future. We have a voice and we are so lucky that most of us get to use it to help shape the how our country will vote on laws & the people who enforce it. Say again & it say it louder to understand what you just read – WE HAVE THE POWER TO HELP SHAPE OUR LAWS. And before you say that our vote doesn’t count, think to yourself ‘why would they work so hard to keep people from voting if it didn’t matter?’
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Are you registered to vote?
Before you decide on ‘Rocking Your Vote’ you should check to see if you are even registered. You can check the status of your State Registration on Rock the Vote. If you find that you are not registered, you can hop over to USA.org or Vote.org to complete the process online. Check your states specific qualifications as some may have you register in person if you are a first timer. Registration deadline for the state of California was October 22nd but each state may have different dates.
GOTTA KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Are you registered to vote?
Now the biggest thing remains: What will you ultimately be voting for? That is not the easiest thing to answer, at all. Thankfully for us living in the internet era, we have access to those who have broken down those long & daunting propositions and laid them out in “almost” readable language. Now head over to Ballot FYI, my favorite guide site, and start listing those pro’s and con’s to make your ultimate decision. They can’t do everything for us.
Ballot FYI is a Nonpartisan Guide to the major propositions we will be voting on in the upcoming election. Basically, they lay out the propositions in a clean & readable view that can be ordered by its number or its ‘spiciness’, aka its importance. Once you click on the proposition image, it breaks down the basic facts, how & who is affected, etc. However, don’t just take my suggestion. ‘Shop around’ and read other explanations to get an unbiased understanding as possible.
As a personal suggestion, read, don’t skim, through the actual pamphlet given by your state. If you have not gotten it in the mail, you can read the PDF version online.
GO GRAB THAT STICKER!
Find your polling place.
There are three majors ways to get your vote placed: Mail-in ballot, Going to your Polling Location & something called an Absentee ballot.
Mail-in Ballot: This one is all in the name. If you are registered as a Mail-In voter, you should have gotten your proposition pamphlet and your official ballot. Once you have completed it, you will simply Mail It In.
Find your Polling Place: Polling sites are open from 7am to 8pm and you could legally get 2 hours from work if your work hours conflict with polling hours. If you are not sure where you should go, you can find your polling location on Voting Matters.
Absentee Ballot: An Absentee Ballot allows you to vote early, either by mail or in-person. You can check each state time frame & qualifications here. You may also request your own ballot here.
99 Comments