A lot of Americans don't know that there will be candidates on the ballot in November who are not running for President of the United States. And if they do know, they probably don't know who to vote for. There is a saying when you do work (volunteer or otherwise) for your local party that consistently pops up: "There's nothing sexy about a ____ race." There isn't anything sexy about elections for County Commissioner, or Register of Deeds, or City Council, or Lieutenant Governor.
"We didn't meet our fundraising goal for this month."
"There's nothing sexy about a county commissioner race."
"We can't find enough volunteers, they are all working for the Sanders campaign even though he already lost the primary in our state."
"There's nothing sexy about volunteering for a Register of Deeds campaign."
"We lost by six votes."
"There's nothing sexy about a city council race."
Except that there is something sexy about local politics. Here are some quick reasons why you should care about local politics:
1. These people control your money.
After the election of NC GOP Governor McCrory, A LOT of budgets were cut. Especially, the education budget. North Carolina public schools were left to cut tons of positions. How did public schools stay afloat? With budgets subsidized by the Board of County Commissioners. Last year, Buncombe County Schools funding "increased by $3.1 million." Who decided that? The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.
2. The people running for these positions are your neighbors.
Take Nancy Nehls Nelson for example: she teaches oil painting. She's also running for Buncombe County Commissioner. Take Jasmine Beach-Ferrara for example: she's a Reverend who also happens to have a wife (and son omgsocute) who also won a really tight primary and is now running unopposed in the general election.
3). These races are always close.
In a year when seats across the state turned/stayed red, Brian Turner won a seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives by less than 1,000 votes to an incumbent Republican.
To those millineals saying they won't vote if their Presidential candidate doesn't get the seat, please know that your vote matters more than you think. Doing nothing (i.e. not voting) is the equivalent of voting for people you don't want in office. Did you hate HB2? Then vote for someone who won't sign stupid legislation like that! Do you think our teachers need to be paid more? Then vote for someone who cares about teachers!
If you aren't sure who will be on the ballot (and you live in North Carolina), go to NCVoterLookup, and search yourself. You can see your voting location, voting history, and ballot.
