I'm proud to be from Appleton, WI, a city that had 67 percent voter turnout in our April 5, 2016 primary election. Maybe this is due to the fact that we also had a mayoral race, or maybe it's just because Wisconsin has had the best voter turnout so far in 2016, but regardless, it's great to be in a place where so many actually showed up to vote.
Unfortunately, just voting for a Presidential candidate isn't enough.
I've heard countless stories of people who simply voted for their party's presidential primary, and then left the rest of the ballot blank. Most of the people who did this said they didn't know other elections were happening, or they had known there would be other elections but they hadn't ever found out who would be on the ballot or what they stood for. In Wisconsin, 15 percent of Sanders supporters and 4 percent of Clinton supporters did not vote in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Rebecca Bradley and JoAnne Kloppenburg. Possibly due to this, the conservative Bradley ended up winning a 10-year term on the state's Supreme Court.
Everyone knows who the Presidential candidates are, and most people know who they're voting for. But awareness of state and local candidates is much lower. Some people think it doesn't matter, others just don't know who anybody is. These candidates do matter, though, just as much as the presidential candidates, if not more. The United States government is set up so that the states have a large amount of power, so the people who get elected to statewide positions (such as the Bradley/Kloppenburg race) matter just as much as those at the federal level. In addition to this, the people you deal with in local politics have a much more direct affect on your life than those in Washington.
For people who don't know, we have a duty to educate them and make them aware of who all is on the ballot and that they should vote in any elections where they are educated on the candidates. Yes, when I voted, I didn't vote in school board elections, because I couldn't find any information on the candidates. But if you are able to find information on candidates - through articles, events, local forums, or their social media pages-- you should share this information with your friends so they know what each candidate stands for.
In November, we can't afford to have people voting for their Presidential pick and leaving the rest of the ballot blank. One third of the Senate and the entire House will be up for re-election. Congress isn't any less important than the presidency-- it actually is the most powerful branch of our government. These races matter just as much as the presidency if not more. In addition to this, there will also be state and local races that matter too. As November approaches, I encourage you to do your research, learn about the candidates, and vote all the way down the ballot on November 8, 2016.
