Be an Informed Voter
I’m certainly not going to tell you who or how you should vote, but I am going to tell you, it’s a whole lot smarter to take a look at the ballot before you arrive at your polling place.
In addition to the Federal offices, state, and local offices, ballots also include Proposed Amendments.
You may have heard and gathered info on most of the higher offices, but you may never have heard of some of the amendments. It’s just smart to take a look and see if there’s any additional info you might want to check before voting.
To See a Sample Ballot
…gotta love the digital age. We can see and print sample ballots online.
Most states will have a similar web site, but I can specifically help you with Alabama. If you’re a voter in the state of Alabama, go to:
http://alabamavotes.gov/.
There you can check your voter registration status and the location of your polling place. You can also see Sample Ballots for each county.
http://alabamavotes.gov/ElectionInfo/2012SampleBallots.aspx?a=voters
Links to the Amendment Acts
See all those amendments on the right side of the ballot? They give a general description, but often, they’re not really enough to make an informed voting decision. You could Google all the Act Numbers assigned to each, but there’s a much shorter way.
Check out the pdf from on the Secretary of State (Alabama) web site.
http://www.sos.state.al.us/downloads/election/2012/general/statecert-amendments-2012-06-08.pdf
The pdf lists all the proposed amendments on the ballot and includes LINKS to the Act Numbers. Use those links to read the actual Act.
This will give you a little more information. If you need to know more pros and cons to each, you’ll have to google a bit. The State Provided files are just straight up records and documentation.
For any of the local or state offices on the ballot about which you may not be as knowledgeable, you should probably Google the candidates a bit to make an informed decision.
Be Prepared
Well, there ya go…at least, in Alabama. Click a couple of links and walk into the polls as an informed voter.
Read up. Go vote! 🙂