By Rachel Yeates, Campus Carrier Editor-in-Cheif
Clinton, Trump, Stein, Johnson – whatever your party affiliation, the bids for top office have many voters thinking of avoiding the polls all together this November. Even if you feel the presidential ballot may as well read “Pick You’re Poison,” I urge you to think past the big-ticket names. Nov. 8 is about more than the oval office.
Also up for consideration: the officials in charge of allocating your tax money, the men and women representing you in national and state arenas.
State, district and county positions, state constitutional amendments and special election items make up the majority of your county’s ballot, and these decisions will affect your everyday life.
The president has no control over local construction or your school board, so research the people who do and those who want that chance. Check in with your local newspaper. Chances are they’ve been covering local politicians and will have information about candidate platforms.
You should be able to find an electronic ballot online. Check your county board of elections website. Of the two-page Floyd County ballot, only three items deal with national politics: president, senator and representative.
Maybe you don’t spend much time in your voting district anymore. Register to vote with your Berry address and vote in Rome. For about four years, you’ll have a stake in the way things are run around here.
Maybe you’re ready to graduate and don’t see the use in voting here or the home you’re about to leave. Think big picture. When I was in Girl Scouts, our troop mantra was “leave a place better than you found it.” The elections are your opportunity to promote change for the better in the county where you’ve spend a good portion of your life.
Millennials have the potential to match the votes of the Baby Boomer generation, according to the Pew Research Center. The question remains: will we show up in those numbers come election day? While we make up nearly a third of the electorate, only half of millennials support Clinton or Trump, NPR reports.
My hope is that this frustration about the presidential candidates encourages people to vote rather than turning them away from a chance to elect officials on all levels of government.
The deadline for absentee ballots in most states is early November, so be sure to check into the deadlines for your state and county. Cecily Crow, director of student activites, heads the voter engagement commitee (Vikings Out To Vote or VOTE), so keep your eyes peeled for political events around campus.
If you have questions about your registration status, check out Rock the Vote’s online resources, and remember that help is always available in the Student Activites Office.