Or you know…VOTE
Think about a person that you really admired while you were growing up. Even if your perception wasn’t reality, they probably seemed wiser, more put together and a vision of what you wanted to work to be someday. For me, that person was my older sister. She got to experience everything first. The big milestones included getting her driver’s license and then the entrance into true adulthood, turning 18. I’ll never forget, we were driving in her car on her birthday and I was enthusiastically listing all of the things that she would get to do now as an adult. Number one: calling the number on infomercials to buy all the “cool stuff.” As a kid I thought she would share my excitement, but instead she responded, “Or you know… vote.”
At the time, being so much younger than her, I didn’t totally understand what voting was. I knew my mom did because she would announce her leaving for the polling place sometimes, but politics was never really a big topic in our house. I turned 18 the summer right before I entered college, so I was out of the house when it was my time to register to vote. In one of my classes, my professor spent one day explaining to us freshmen how to be informed about all things voting. Even though we'd all come to school with some preconceived opinions, my professor taught us about the importance of doing your own research before voting. She showed us a website that allowed you to choose a specific election (local or national) and compare information about each candidate. You could read each individual’s stance on the topics that mattered to you. Some of those topics included education, the environment, taxes…you get the idea. I thought this was genius! As a notoriously indecisive person, I liked the almost scientific breakdown of the comparison.
Even though I spent a lot of time researching, I chickened out and never registered to vote in the first election that I was eligible for. I knew what candidates I would have voted for, but never made it happen. As time kept passing and more elections came to be, I was getting firmer and firmer in my beliefs about the issues that were important to me. I think that’s just part of growing up. In some ways, I was really fortunate that my parents didn’t discuss politics so much because that allowed me to eventually form my own opinions and select a party that really aligned with my own values. I also think stepping outside of the bubble of my home community and going to college helped me. I met a bunch of different people while in school - some who thought like I did and some who did not. Meeting new people is so important because it allows you to gain new perspectives. But, you don’t have to go to college to learn more about those around you- you can do that in your own community by joining clubs or taking classes related to a hobby you enjoy.
I admit that I did go through a short phase later where it felt like it didn’t matter if I voted because popular vote doesn’t always reflect how the electoral college will vote, but I think that was just my anxiety about visiting a polling place for the first time and stepping out of my comfort zone. I was afraid to mess up, but I still complained about the candidates and their positions. It wasn’t until Sami pointed out to me that I wasn’t doing any good by just talking about it. If I was going to do something about it, I had to vote. When she’s right, she’s right. I couldn’t argue with that logic. It was immediately after that conversation that I registered to vote and the rest is history.
So, that’s the first takeaway that I hope you get from this post: If you are eligible, PLEASE register to vote. Your vote and your voice do matter. If you are experiencing some anxiety like I did, find someone to ask about it. I realize that if my professor was so excited to teach us how to decide who to vote for, she would have been equally excited to educate me on how to actually cast a vote. You can ask a family member, a friend, a coworker. Heck, you can ask the election officers at your local polling place! That is what they are there for. Use this link to check your status.
Now that I’m a registered voter and I have voted several times, I really pay attention to elections. Instead of it being a casual thing that I might research just before I vote, I follow candidates in the news. I like to do deep dives. Granted, I do get a little too into it sometimes and especially in our current society, consuming too much news can really heighten anxiety and depression. That is something I am actively working on. But, it does seem like with each passing election, more and more seems to be at stake. I am not going to try to influence you to vote for a particular candidate in the upcoming 2024 United States presidential election, I just plead that you make sure you have the most informed experience possible by following these steps:
We talked about this already, but check to make sure you are eligible and registered to vote. It only takes a few minutes and is really easy to do. As Sami said to me, oh so wisely, put your money (vote) where your mouth is.
Do your own research. The first thing I did after watching the recent debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, was read recap articles that fact-checked both candidates and the claims that they made. No candidate is ever going to be 100 percent truthful, whether that means they blatantly say something untrue or omit certain facts. That is why we rely on news sources to check them. For me, I went into the debate knowing who I was going to vote for and left with the same conclusion. But, there were a lot of undecided people watching and I think that is really important! I also think you have to manage your expectations a little. You may not always agree with 100 percent of the policies and ideas of a particular candidate. The key is to vote for the person who most aligns with your values and the issues that you care about. After I was done doing my fact-checking homework, I went on social media to get the meme take on it all, and there was a person in the comments on one video I watched that said “Can someone just tell me what each person is all about?” To which someone replied, “Google is free.” Don’t forget to also check out the websites of the candidates if you are undecided and want to go straight to the source to catch a vibe.
With social media, it is so easy to just listen to someone else’s perspective on a candidate or event. But, with this convenience of information, there is also a lot of disinformation out there. Just because someone posts something, does not mean that it is true. You have to consider your source. The site I used to get election information in college still exists, but now there are some that allow you to check whether a particular news article is biased or not. I personally try to get most of my information from unbiased news sources like the Associated Press or Reuters. Using unbiased news sources allows me to get just the facts and form my own conclusions. Typically, Fox News leans to the right, in favor of the Republican party, and CNN leans to the left, in favor of the Democratic party. Just because a source is somewhat biased doesn’t mean their reports are untrue, necessarily, but they do tend to leave out specific information or under/over qualify certain candidates which can be very (sometimes intentionally) misleading. Unbiased news sources will relay information to their audience in a way that is straight to the point and doesn’t try to sway people’s voting decisions. While biased media will directly encourage its audience to vote for one candidate, whether that be through straight facts or misinformation.
Next, get involved! If you are able, you can financially contribute to a campaign. Make a donation! But, if that doesn’t fit into your budget, consider volunteering your time. Go to a rally. Go to events in your community, either in person or virtually to show your support. Engage and talk to others, but remember to be respectful. I think it is clear that sometimes people don’t want to have a dialogue because they don’t want to be influenced. They already know who they are voting for, and that’s OK. That is their right, but there is no harm in having friendly discussions or even becoming an ally to someone who is new to voting and needs a little push to actually do it.
This election is taking up a lot of space in my mind and my heart. I have a lot of anxiety as I’ve mentioned before. I know that, personally, all I can do is vote and talk to people and encourage them to vote, but that still didn’t feel like enough this time. So, I also registered to work as an election officer at my local polling place. I just completed the training today and earned my official certificate! To say I am excited is an understatement. Now, I know this may not be a feasible plan for everyone. It is a whole-day affair. We’re talking scheduled work from 6 am to 9 pm and, to be there, I will have to take time off from my regular job. I recognize this isn’t something everyone can do, but consider opportunities like volunteering or even running for office yourself if that is something you think you can do while still taking care of yourself. My goal was to learn about the polling process and to offer a smile to all the voters I will see in November and I’m ready!
So, there you have it! It turns out there’s much more to being an adult than just being able to call the number on infomercials. It’s so funny: now that I AM an adult, I despise talking on the phone, which isn’t always too much of a problem because the internet is a bigger place now than it was when I was a kid. Now, if I wanted to order junk from a TV commercial, I could probably just go to their website. Easy as pie. But, with every passing election, the wise words of my sister ring truer and truer: “Or you know… vote”. You’ve got this! Imagine the future you want for yourself and your loved ones and make sure to show up in November to make it happen.