Anyone who knows me knows that I am really into politics. I became interested in politics around 2004. In case you were wondering, I was around 10 years old. At the age of 9, I didn't really understand everything about politics. I probably didn't understand most things about politics. Honestly, all I really knew was that George W. Bush was President and Dick Cheney was Vice President and that I really wanted to vote for their re-election. As I grew older, I began to understand more about politics. By the 2008 election, I had a pretty good grasp on politics. I understood where each political party stood on the issues truly important to me. Even at the age of 13, I had a very good idea of my political ideology. I aligned myself with the Republican party. I still had a ways to go before I could officially vote. As I grew older, my interest in politics continued to grow. I remember how excited I was at age 18 to go vote. It was just a small local election but I could vote and that's all I cared about. At age 21, I have never been more excited about an election. I can finally vote for President! For those of you who aren't as into politics as I am, I just want to give you a few tips about voting and your duty as a citizen.
1. Register to Vote
Back near the beginning of the school year I organized a voter registration drive through Student Government Association in conjunction with the College Republicans. Our voter registration drives tend to be pretty successful. In 3 years, we have registered 127 voters which I think is a great number for a small school. If you have not yet registered to vote, there is still plenty of time to register! The last day to register to vote in the General Election is October 11th. You can go to vote.org to register or you can register in person at your county election office! You can't vote if you don't register!
2. Decide Which Party you Align With
There are many was you can do this. There are a lot of quizzes online that you can take that will help you find out your political ideology.
Here are a few that I think are pretty good:
https://www.isidewith.com/political-quiz
This one gives you percentages of which candidate you side the most with including other smaller parties such as Libertarian, Green, and Independent.
http://www.people-press.org/quiz/political-party-q...
From what I can tell, this quiz puts you on a continuum and so you can see where you stand. It also has a feature where you can look at how your views compare with other people your age, race, religion, etc.
Here's a chart that explains what the two major parties stand for:
3. Become an Informed Voter
Along with the Presidential election, there will also be a lot of small local elections on this ballot! Read up on your candidates! This is something I fail to do a lot. A lot of times I just pick out names that sound familiar to me. At home I've noticed that I see a lot of signs on the side of the road. These are the names I typically remember when I go to vote. Something I need to keep in mind is that an election is not about who puts out the most signs on the side of the road and in yards, it's about voting for the candidate that you feel would do the best job! In preparation for the Presidential election, I highly recommend that you watch the Presidential and Vice Presidential Debates. I've always enjoyed watching these debates but I typically watch them alone at school simply because a lot of my friends aren't as into them as I am. For the first Presidential Debate, SGA and College Republicans hosted a watch party. We had about 40 people in attendance and it was so exciting to watch the debate with so many people.
4. Get Out and Vote
The General Election is coming up November 8th. It's not enough to just register to vote, you need to get out and vote! If you are an out-of-state voter, I encourage you to get an absentee ballot. You can request your absentee ballot online and have it mailed to you and mail it back. I know a lot of people are hesitant about the two candidates this election season and I totally get that. They are not ideal, but you still need to vote! A quote I really like is, "If you can't vote the candidate, vote the platform." This is one of the most important elections in my lifetime. The new president has the potential to appoint at least one new Supreme Court Justice and possibly more than that. This Presidential Election has the potential to change the Supreme Court decisions for quite a while. You have a voice! Let it be heard! I remember how excited I was to get my "I voted" sticker and now I am even more excited to get another one in this next election. If you don't vote, you're giving up your voice.
You may not be a political junkie like me but I hope this article has encouraged you to become an informed voter!
