If you have not already voted, we encourage you to do so tomorrow! Go get that “I Voted” sticker!
Elections are your opportunity to hold your elected officials accountable. They are a way to peacefully throw out those who do not do a good job and replace them with someone promising better.
This opportunity is not possible in many parts of the world; it is something to be treasured.
Whatever your interests, elections are important! The people we elect will touch your life in many ways.
If you need help learning about who is on your ballot, our non-partisan partner, Ballotpedia, can help. They also provide links to each state’s website for voting locations and times.
We can not tell you who to vote for – but we can confidently predict that a Congress and state legislatures full of partisan warriors will only bring more grandstanding and gridlock. It would be refreshing to see the warriors replaced by problem-solvers.
Here is a short summary of how people you elect can touch your life:
- Congress controls things like defense spending, social security, transfers to the states, taxation, borrowing, and debt repayments.
- The state legislatures set state tax policies, regulate businesses, and control a wide range of the services that touch your everyday life – including schools and healthcare – and often regulate what your county and municipal governments can do.
- The administration of elections is controlled by state legislatures as well as Governors, state Secretaries, state Attorneys-General, and Elections Commissioners. Many states also elect judges who may rule on any elections-related cases.
- Local elections are often important for property taxes, development, school boards, roads, and water supplies.
If you want to learn more about our system of government, why it is set up as it is and its’ value, please check out our short courses and glossary here.