Tips for Lazy, Last Minute Voters (Like Me)

Happy Voting Day!  In Massachusetts, we have candidates and 4 ballot questions, and the polls open at 7am.  I was really disappointed in myself that I didn't take the time to research all the candidates like I thought I would.  We have a Governor's race, which I've been idly following, and I took the time to read the newsprint handout about our ballot questions that my state sent out.  I've been really convicted lately that I should know who is in charge of me and what they believe in, especially at a local level where it effects me most directly.  It's something I plan to work on.

As a human, voting seems a little futile sometimes, especially if you've ever watched an episode of House of Cards.  But as a lady, I have to do it anyway.  There was a time, not terribly long ago, when the right to vote was not mine, and fierce people fought so I would never have to ask someone else to be my voice.  I feel like I shouldn't waste that gift.

My local NPR station put together this infographic to help you understand what a yes or no vote would mean for each ballot question.  I'm going to pull it up when I'm voting this morning. I also Googled "Who is on the ballot in Leominster" and a little gadget appeared at the top of search results.  You could plug in your address and find out who was on the ballot in your area, and most of the names were hyper linked so you could do a quick scan of their web presence.  I imagine this works all over the country!

Ideally, I would have starting researching candidates and understanding the issues in my area awhile ago, but that simply didn't happen this year.  I'm not going to let it stop me from participating in this process, especially when the internet  gives you the ability to get some info on the walk from the parking lot to the voting booth.

What do you think?  Have you been following these midterm elections closely?  Did you just realize this was a voting day (I've been there, that's real)?  Are you going to vote today?  Love you, sister suffragettes! 

(image credit 1 and 2)