Rarely do I write a piece telling people to go do something, but if there's ever been an appropriate reason to do so, it's the 2016 election. It has been a historically divisive election cycle, which means that participating in the process this year is even more important than it normally is. Actually, I'm not going to plead you to do just ONE thing, but two:
1. Register to vote.
Most forms take less than five minutes to fill out. Though voter registration in most states has closed, it's still open in 15 states. If you need to register in Alabama or California, hurry: the deadline is October 24th. If this piece is somehow reaching someone in North Dakota, guess what: you don't even have to register! As long as you're 18, a citizen, and a resident of the state, you can just go ahead and vote. Other states have varying deadlines, but in many, you can register to vote in person on or before Election Day, November 8th. Which means that if you live in Colorado, DC, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, or Wyoming, you literally have zero excuses for not voting, SO GO VOTE.
2. Make an educated decision on whom you're voting for based on your values.
It seems to me that there are generally two types of voters in this election: people who will absolutely not change their vote no matter what happens in the next few weeks, and people who have no idea who they want to vote for. I'm in the first category, but I took this short but comprehensive quiz and learned a lot. It asks you relatable questions in several different categories such as immigration, education, and science, while also allowing you to rank their importance. Your answers to the questions can be as simple or as in-depth as you want. Additionally, as you go through the quiz, there are "learn more" buttons on EVERY question; when you click, they don't take you to random other pages, but provide the key relevant information right there in the quiz in a paragraph or less. There are also links to see what other people think about the issue if you still need help deciding.
When you've finished, the quiz calculates how your answers align with each of the four major candidates. But it doesn't just stop there—it also provides you with extensive information on what your political values are and what they mean, completely separate from the election. So even if you know who you're voting for, this is still an important thing to do.
I cannot emphasize enough that this quiz is the PERFECT tool for the undecided, for the people who say they don't know enough to make a choice, who are reluctant to vote simply because it's all top overwhelming.
This is it. This is that one easy thing you've been looking for that takes ten minutes or less and gives you answers, no matter what.
