I have been a registered voter for about 6 years, however I have voted in only about 2-3 elections and to be honest I have no idea who or what I voted for. Everyone wants to vote in the Presidential elections, but lately I am also interested in the local officials and their offices. I am not sure how to go about getting information on this. I own a home and would like to make educated decissions about my voting. I know that this effects my life at work and home and where my money may go. I want to make educated decisions in my voting of the presidential canidates too. In the past I have gone with my party and voted for whomever was the top. I don't want to do that anymore and I want others to make these informed decisions too. Help me. I want to know about the canidates for the presidency. Give me your opinions and the facts you know. Give me a hand here. I want to sift through this information and make a good decision this time. Also if anyone has any information as to how to get information on local governments that would help too. I would rather not vote than just pick anyone. I feel like I have made a big mistake in the past and want to make a change in my life, and that may help others too. Join me and help me out here. Let me know your opinions, I will not judge them as good or bad, I just want information on the candidates.
To Vote informed or Not Vote At All
By mayliz2001 - Posted on February 22nd, 2008
people vote for presidential nominees based on their looks, race, gender, ect. its bull
they need to no the policies and the people they are electing.
Exactly why I don't bother voting.
Why I Will Not Vote
+mspin
I am tired of people voting for the "lesser of two evils." Vote for who YOU want to!!
During the last elections for state senators there were two major candidates and many people in the state did not like either. Yet, the voted for the opposite one of the person they really DID NOT want to see in the senate. In one of my classes the teacher asked "how many people wanted Mark Millican (third party) to win?" 19 people in the class raised their hand. When asked how many people voted for Mark Millican, only 4 people raised their hand! Plus if third parties started winning more, maybe they would be invited to debates. Hard to know what they stand for if we are responsible for searching ourselves. We are too stuck on republican vs. democrat. I have voted outside of my party before, because of the issues.
For you to research, look at different state websites and read on EVERYONE, not just the major front runners. I know in my city we get a magazine in the mail a few months before state elections which list all candidates, personal quotes from them and their positions on major, and minor, issues.
"A library is a hospital for the mind." Anonymous
You can find information about federal and state officials and candidates at http://www.votesmart.org/
Fact check information you learn about candidates at http://www.factcheck.org/ and double check. Just because you read it, doesn't make it true. Double and triple checking helps!
You can sometimes find local candidate information at http://www.vote411.org/bystate.php
Your best bet in that direction though, is the contact the county clerk and ask where to get a list of candidates running for local offices.
And if you will PM me your email address, I can send you the resource guides that I have for Presidential candidates that was compiled by a volunteer at another organization I volunteer with. And as soon as I have time, I'm going to post to the Between the Lines column about various resources... I just haven't gotten that far yet.
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~Fallon~
“What is insanity, anyway? Is it when you scream and everyone else whispers, or is it when you fight for what's right, even when everyone else thinks your wrong?” Ethergoth
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This is the first presidential election that I will be able to vote in. I fully plan on participating in this November's election, but I am in the same boat as you. I really want to vote for the best possible candidate, but I am not really sure where each candidate stands on the issues that are important to me. When searching on the internet for information I found this link to be helpful.
http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm
This site separates out the information for each issue, and provides information on the candidates voting history. Also, you can find out information for both federal and state offices. The only downside is that the site doesn't have a compare and contrast section.