Time To Vote

Today is voting day in the United States of America.

No matter what you think or believe about the state of politics these days, you have an opportunity to vote.

Problem is, not enough people will vote today.

Even worse is the lack of simple knowledge about the whole process.

I asked a friend of mine last week who is very politically outspoken a couple of questions about candidates.

Who can you vote for that will go to Washington and represent you?

She mentioned someone who is running for State Senator, but got his name only half correct.  I told her no, he is on the ballot to represent her in the Indiana Senate in Indianapolis but not Washington D.C.

I informed her that Indiana does not have any U.S. Senators up for election this year.  She looked confused.

I continued to inform her that in this election, she can vote for someone to represent her in Congress.  She thought I was crazy.  So I explained the whole system of two houses that make up the legislative branch of the U.S. government.  In case you don’t know, here’s the lowdown:

The Senate.  Each state gets 2 Senators.  They serve 6 year terms.  Every 2 years about 1/3  (33) Senate seats are up for election.  It just so happens that this is an off election in Indiana for U.S. Senators.

The House of Representatives.  The number of Representatives each state gets varies, based on the states population % compared to the entire U.S. Population.  Indiana currently has 9 Representatives, each represent a portion of the state. These representatives are commonly called Congressmen and Congresswomen. The geographic area they represent are called Congressional Districts.

Let’s assume you already knew those basics, unlike my politically outspoken friend.

Today you get to cast your vote. Every vote counts as they say. But because not everyone will vote today, your vote effectively is worth more than 1 vote.

If only 33% of the population that is age 18+ votes, then theoretically your vote (and everyone who votes today) is worth 3 votes!

Odds are less than 20% will participate in this years election and so, well you can do the math if you want.

 

Look if you care about the direction our country is going, or even if it’s just a local issue or office that you care about, don’t just rant and rave about it.  Take Action.  Today.