I’m going to assume that many of you reading this are in
some ways similar to me – American citizens with a general desire to vote and a
hope that our country’s best days are still ahead.
If those things are true, I’m also guessing that you, like
me, are at least fairly disappointed with the prospects for the presidential
election this fall. None of the options we have, to me, are attractive or inspiring.
I can’t personally remember many presidential elections, only back to Dole vs.
Clinton in 1996, but I’ve never been this unimpressed with the candidates. In
complete honesty, I would happily vote for either of the major candidate’s
running mates instead, if I could.
The good part of this situation is that it’s turned my attention
to elections I haven’t paid much, if any, attention to in the past, and that in
all reality might have more of an impact on my life and my family than the
presidential election. These elections include U.S. Senators and Representatives,
but even more the local bonds, school-board elections, and positions like
county commissioner and school board. These elections are usually not
glamorous, and tend not to be funded by billionaire donors or superPACs, but I
would argue they have at least as much influence on our lives as the
presidential elections have.
What kind of schools do we want our children to go to? What
kinds of parks do we want to walk and play in? How should we pay for the road
improvements we need (cough, Pleasant Grove, cough)? What will Person X do
about the landfill if elected to the county planning and zoning commission? How
can we help the homeless? Should net-metering for electricity be continued for
homes with solar panels? Should teachers in our schools be allowed or
encouraged to carry concealed weapons to school?
These kinds of issues are and should be, I believe,
primarily local issues decided by local voters. Local solutions can be tailored
to meet local conditions, and maybe even more importantly, they get people like
me, who are often only engaged in politics every four years or so, involved and
working on making the world around us a little bit better. Math is in your
favor in a local election as well. About 120 million people voted in the 2012
presidential election, so if you’re hoping that your vote will make a real difference,
local elections maximize your vote’s impact.
The hardest part about local elections is that they can be
hard to get good information on. To help with that, at least for those of you
here in Utah, here’s a link to a state webpage that allows you to input your
street address and see a complete list of elections and ballot items customized
for you – from President down to local ballot initiatives. It includes links to
each candidate’s profile page (which usually includes a link to their personal
or campaign website). Just input your address and then click the green, “Sample
Ballot, Profiles, Issues” button. If your state has a similar system and you have the link, post it below!
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