Adapted and modified from a post on my personal facebook page last week…
Hey, look.
Even if your vote cancels mine out, you should still do your research and go to the polls today. You see, this whole “democracy” thing only works when you’re involved (even if we disagree), and it’ll function even better if you make informed decisions.
Do your own digging on the candidates; find actual quotes and voting records to see if they share your positions. Pay attention to endorsements, but tune out the attack ads, as these rely on deceptive language and faulty statistics to sway your opinion. If there’s one issue that’s most important to you, make sure you’re checking what else the candidate supports and really weighing the pros and cons. State officials have a lot of power over your community, and that’s why midterms are still a very big deal.
Don’t just focus on candidates though. Make sure to look up the amendments ahead of time, think through how they’ll affect your community, and pay special attention to who is endorsing them. If you don’t know the amendments when you go to vote, their language can throw you for a loop (which happened to me the first time I voted more than a decade ago). Even ten minutes of research before you get to the polls could have a big impact on your community.
I personally used votesaveamerica.com to learn about the amendments on the ballot in Florida, and I had my full sample ballot (candidates, amendments, and research on both) done in just under half an hour. Vote Save America isn’t perfect though; when I got to the polls last week for early voting, I discovered a few judges, conservation officials, and local measures not listed on the site. Googling them on my phone to check their endorsements, experience, and lawyer approval ratings took barely a minute each, and the rest of the booths were moving quickly enough that my extra five minutes of research didn’t seem to inconvenience anyone.
Even if you missed registration, you can still bring along as much identifying info as possible (a photo ID featuring a signature, a proof of address like an electric bill, etc.) and vote on a provisional ballot. Back in the 2014 midterms, I had just moved to Jacksonville and hadn’t yet registered, but I was still able to vote provisionally.
There’s a lot of important stuff on the ballot this year, so take a little time to research, and go vote. It’s still the most effective way to make your voice heard.
Also, just one more thing:
This election cycle, I’m hearing a lot of people decrying the mingling of religion and politics (particularly to criticize left-leaning Christians), but here’s the deal: church and state are legally separate, but religion and politics aren’t. While churches (as tax exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations) have to be cautious about their involvement in political campaigns, it is absolutely impossible to separate individuals’ political views from their religious ones. Jesus isn’t going to wait patiently outside your polling place; he’ll be in there beside you. If your conscience has been shaped at all by religion, your religion will be a part of your vote. For example:
My belief in grace affected my stance on voting rights restoration;
my belief in compassion affected my stance against dog racing;
and, yes, my belief in love overcoming prejudice affected my stance on a few candidates (leading me to put a sign in my yard for the first time ever).
Understanding the interplay between your religion and your politics (and being aware of which one is influencing which) is necessary for a fully integrated life.
So yeah, vote your faith. Vote your conscience.
There’s an opportunity to make a difference today. Please take it.