#vote local

[originalleftist]

Re Voting in the US:

Bottom line:

Yes MAGA will cheat.

Yes, they will try to rig it.

If they lose anyway they will try to overturn it by force.

Vote anyway. Vote all the more.

Make them work for it. Make their fraud obvious. And then take to the streets to demand that the will of the people be honoured.

Staying home is just doing their job for them.

[aunti-christ-ine]

Benson would be a perfect governor for our state! Michiganders, please vote!

[deadgodjess]

AK kept ranked choice and open primaries by SIX HUNDRED SIXTY-FOUR VOTES.

VOTE IN YOUR LOCAL ELECTIONS!

[whenweallvote]

If you’re eligible to vote, you have the right to vote. If you run into any problems or have questions before or on Election Day, call or text the Election Protection Hotline:

📞 English: 1-866-OUR-VOTE 📞 Spanish: 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA 📞 Arabic: 1-844-YALLA-US 📞 Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Urdu, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog, or Vietnamese: 1-888-API-VOTE

[space-specs]

Your Guide To Voting in 2024

Yes, you may feel like everything is horrible and hopeless, and you don't want to vote. I'm here to not do that, and give you tips and info on why. Ultimately, I do not care what you actually vote only that you try to go and fill out something.

Make Sure You Are Registered to Vote

Check your registration status. This site has a drop down to select your state, which will link you to the website to check and see if you're registered.

Not registered? Go here. This site will tell you how to get registered in your state and will link you directly to the online registration if your state offers it.

Make sure you have a government issued photo ID. Driver's license, state ID, passport, etc. Many states require to you to present some form of ID to vote. Find out what counts in your state (and exceptions and provisional ballot rules) here.

Know you'll have difficulty making it to the ballot box? Check the rules for voting by mail/absentee voting in your state and see if you qualify.

Look up your sample ballot ahead of time! Lots of places provide a sample ballot which allows you to see what all the issues are ahead of time. Since this will vary by local elections, the best way to this is to look up "[your county name] sample ballot", possibly with the year tacked on to the end of the search. This may not be available until closer to election day, but it is a great way to get prepared for voting.

Other Voting Tips

This is where I get into the bit where it matters more to me that you vote than who you vote for. This is a personal principle of mine: everyone has the right to vote regardless of if I agree with what you choose to do with that vote.

You do not have to fill out every box on the ballot. You can leave some blank! Don't want to vote on President this year? Fine! Only want to vote on President and don't want to research other issues? Also fine. In fact, you can turn in a completely blank ballot if you want, and that is a political action, too. (Tip: parties note a blank box on issues because it indicates to them you were dissatisfied with your options)

You can bring notes with you! Too many issues to keep track of? Write yourself a note, print out a sample ballot and fill it out in advance to copy over, finding a voting guide and print it. As long as it is ON PAPER, you can bring it with you. (I verified this is universally allowed here)

Don't know where to start on research? The sample ballot is a great place to start just looking up candidates, but I also recommend checking out your local chapter of League of Women Voters. They put out a voters guides for each election that list pros and cons to various issues on the ballot.

The most important and most neglected elections are your local ones. Real grassroots change might be possible in your city, if you pay attention. Too overwhelmed by all this? Pick a few local issues to focus on, like the school board or city council. My city passed a trans-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance in a red state because people rallied around a handful of progressive city council members that swayed the vote. Even if everything feels hopeless, you make things better for yourself and your loved ones by actively engaging in your local politics.

Remember it's voting AND not voting OR. I know a lot of people are extremely dissatisfied with their options for this year's election, especially at the national level. Don't stop doing what you're doing. Don't stop protesting and boycotting and donating and talking about the things that matter to you. Get involved in your community. Find ways to make a difference. But also, go vote. Please.

Thank you for reading this. I hope something in here was helpful for you, and if it was, please consider reblogging this so that others can find it as well. If I've forgotten anything important, I welcome any helpful additions and will do my best to reblog those or add them to the original post as needed!

[onlytiktoks]

Idaho state senator tells Native American candidate 'go back where you came from' in forum

An Idaho state senator is reported to have told a Native American candidate to “go back where you came from” during a candidate forum this w

"Trish Carter-Goodheart, a Democratic candidate for the state House District 6 seat and member of the Nez Perce tribe..."

Vote Trish Carter-Goodheart, a dedicated Native American woman leader, fighting for stronger public schools, renewable energy jobs, and lowe

[unb1nding-t-b0y]

Hey finished voting yesterday and I saw a lot of people running unopposed especially at the local levels so...

hey you, yes you -the millennial with a degree and a special interest in politics or making the world a better place. Run for local office! The way Republicans have infiltrated everything is by taking over smaller office positions and then ranking up. Run for senate, congress, mayor, local districts. Get in there! Alot of environmental policy starts at the city, county, and state levels. We need you, And honestly alot of those jobs are easier to get and have more job security than most entry level positions. Some of the positions are unpaid and not everyone can take them and those positions are important to so hey you gen z And millennials with good educations that are still getting support from your parents. RUN FOR LOCAL OFFICE PLEASE.

[nenya85]

School Board Elections

In light of the recent decision by McMinn County to ban “Maus,” I wanted to take a break from my regularly scheduled Yu-Gi-Oh! reblogs and posts to talk about U.S. school boards.  School boards are local entities that, depending on the state, make budget allocations and set policy on a range of things including curricula, library and classroom books and in some cases, expanding school lunch programs.

The people making these decisions have only been elected by 5-10% of the eligible voters in their communities and often do not represent the communities they serve.  Again, depending on the state, school board elections often not held with general elections in November or even during primaries.  They’re often unpublicized.  A lot of people think only parents are allowed to vote.  As a result, over 90% of eligible voters do not vote in school board elections, and it’s not uncommon for up to 98% voters to give school board elections a pass.

Because of the low rate of turnout, one strategy I’d suggest is finding out when your local school board elections are being held and voting as well as encouraging your friends to vote.  Ballotpedia has information on 2022 school board elections for the 200 largest school districts and 100 largest cities in the U.S.  If your school district isn’t listed you might have to google the information for your area, usually it will be listed on state boards of elections websites.  There has been a move lately to support moving school board elections to be held on the same day as presidential elections.  if your state does not do this, it’s something you might want to urge your state representatives to adopt.