Voting is an exciting and scary new adventure for anyone. Whether you just turned 18 and are participating in your first Presidential Election or you just became a citizen, the process can be daunting. On top of that, you have to know not just the major candidates, like Senate or Presidential candidates, but also your local possibilities for representatives.
Feeling freaked out?! Not to worry! There are plenty of organizations that focus primarily on making every election as easy and accessible to you as they can. Here are 3 of my favorites I refer to when I want to learn about a candidate, a specific issue, and use when creating my ballot “cheat sheet”:
First, no, you do not need to be a woman to find what you are looking for at this website. This organization creates a variety of resources, such as advocacy & issues information, candidate guides, and ideas to help Get the Vote Out to your friends and community!
This is a great nonpartisan organization that provides resources for students to get registered to vote, find more information about their local ballot, and empowers the community to participate in elections. If you’re looking to plan a voter registration drive or raise awareness about a polling location date near you, MOVE is a great resource and advocate to work with.
Local News Outlets:
Wherever you are in the United States, your local news outlets are a great place to start looking for information about the local elections! The national election candidates are going to be all over the major news outlets and your social media platforms. So don’t get overwhelmed!
Now, it’s the lesser known positions and candidates you’ll have to do a little more work to research and find who you want to support. I would argue, and while knowing about all the candidates are important, these local candidates are the more impactful ones to watch as they influence legislation and change to your more immediate communities.
While this list is small and does not cover the thousands of other resources available about the elections, these are great places to start and create your own guide to your local elections!
-J.A
-edited by K.J