The 2016 election will be my first presidential voting experience... and I was not at all prepared for what this election cycle has become. It can feel like an almost impossible election for anyone who has ever felt like there's a middle ground for anything. That being said, I am a strong advocate -- sometimes an overwhelming one -- for voter turnout. Don't tell me who you're voting for, I won't tell you, but it is so important, this year especially, to be an informed and active voter. And you don't agree or think you already are 100 percent prepared for this election, please let my GIFs light a fire under your ass. Make the 2016 election your favorite subject this year because it's going have more impact on global politics than your chem final.
1. Register to Vote
You can be as educated as you want about the important issues (the "Fifty Shades" sequel and Orange foods) but if you don't register to vote you cannot express your opinion except with a cardboard sign and a loud voice. I have registered hundreds of people to vote and I get the weirdest excuses. Examples include:
"I don't want to serve jury duty."
I've also heard "It's too complicated."
I'm sorry, but it's only too complicated if Googling "How register vote please" is too complicated for you. On average, it takes me about three minutes to guide someone through the process of registering to vote. Don't know if you're already registered? There's a website where you type in your name and state and IT WILL TELL YOU. Other than your driver's license number, registering to vote requires less information than my monthly subscription box asks me to provide.
Quick Tips for Registering:
1. Know when your state's registration deadline is (Yo, Ohio, ours is October 11th).
2. Post that date in big red letters on your calendar so it doesn't creep up on you.
3. If that date and the actual voting day (Nov 8) are just too much information to hold in your busy little head, don't worry! You can move to Vermont or one of the other 14 states that allow same-day registration. In these states, you can register and vote on the same day.
2. Find Your Polling Place
So, you've registered to vote. Now you can just sit back and wait for official voter guy to show up at your door and ask you who you are voting for, right?
Not exactly. But this step is an easy one. Know WHERE you are registered to vote. It shouldn't take more than Google and knowing your zip code, but if you happen to live out of town or are registered to vote in a different city than your current residence, you're going to need to apply for an absentee ballot.
NOT ANOTHER APPLICATION, don't worry, most states automatically send out a short form to every voter giving them the option to ask for an absentee ballot without lifting anything more than a stamp.
3. Figure Out What YOU Stand For
Seems simple but this is the most important step. It's easy to confuse our own opinions with those of the most outspoken people around us. But it's very important in an election so polarizing to know exactly what makes you say...
Confidently oppose the status quo of your generation or boldly conform to the same ideals you had the day you finally broke down and bought Uggs. There's no one watching you on voting day so there's no reason to hide your opinions behind the booth curtain. If you're really worried about what people will think, no one can stop you from not telling them what party or candidate you prefer. Anti-confrontation folks can still have their own belief systems and opinions in the voting booth.
So please, before you even consider a candidate for president, consider what is important to you and what you think important qualities for such a candidate would be.
4. Familiarize Yourself with the Candidates
Unless you've been living in Bikini Bottom you know that there are two main candidates for this year's presidential election. Let's call them, just for kicks, Ronald Drumpf and Billary Lewinsky.
Just kidding, but seriously, Clinton and Trump represent the two major parties in the US so you're probably familiar with their brands. If not, that's OK, you still have time, but make sure when you show up to your polling place in November (because we're all voting, right?) that you know at the very least the name of your candidate. Turns out, however, that if you can't stomach a vote for either major party candidates you should start to pay attention to the third-party candidates on your state's ballot. At least three of them are present on over 20 state ballots. Because, if you really can't take the extreme stance of the Democrats or Republicans, then you're gonna need a third option. But be careful about voting for third-party candidates...
5. Know How Your Vote Will Affect the Election
Depending on who you ask, voting for a third-party candidate, no matter how perfect he or she may be, is the same as voting for opposite candidate.
That's right, if a third party candidate has too similar of values as one of the big two (think Green Party and Tea Party), they can draw votes from said party and cost them the election. So if you don't like Hillary but you really really don't like Donald watch out for candidates that might draw away Hillary voters or your vote might just be one that increases the difference between the two major players.
Always being in favor of any kind of educated expression of democracy, I won't encourage you to only vote for the two best-funded campaigns this year, but when you walk into that booth, know the potential effects of your vote.
6. Match Your Values to the Candidate that (for the most part) Shares the Same Values
Ok, now we've registered, identified our personal beliefs and can name all the major players of the 2016 election. I cannot encourage enough that even if you think you know everything about your candidate, DO MORE RESEARCH.
7. Vote, vote, Oh my god, VOTE
Not to sound like your mom, but there are starving children in Africa who are starving because they CAN'T VOTE. You have a unique opportunity to influence the policies of the entire world. Don't take it for granted ever, throwing away your vote is absolutely the worst way to spend your November 8th. I have a personal utopia in my head in which everyone votes and if you choose not to then you aren't allowed the full rights of a US citizen, because you didn't contribute to them. But in reality all it means is that it would be very unfair of you to then criticize anyone holding an office considering you did not put your two cents in when it mattered.
Important Links:
State by State registration deadlines: http://www.rockthevote.com/get-informed/elections/...
Voter Registration Form: (WARNING: do not be overwhelmed, the short form is on page 4, the rest of the pages just have state by state information so you're aware of your state specific requirements) http://www.eac.gov/assets/1/Documents/Federal Vo...
The candidates: https://ballotpedia.org/Presidential_candidates,_2...
