It’s been a really tough spring. A global pandemic and national anti-racism movement has brought to light a few glaring discrepancies in our systems. So what’s next? Among requests to put our money where our mouth is… the battle cry to action I’ve been hearing over and over is – GO VOTE!
Local elections are often passed off as too tedious a task in my generation. We save our right to vote and political attention span until something big comes up – like a presidential ticket. However, these past few months have been a great reminder that local officials impact our lives in a very BIG way. Please consider voting in your local polls this election season.
WHAT/WHERE/WHEN/HOW
New Orleans Early voting started June 27th and ends July 4th
Election Day is July 11th
See more information on voting times at Nola.com.
For Louisiana voters, the LA Gov website is a go-to resource for all things voting related.
Once registered, you can easily sign in to find your voter precinct, election locations, dates, and view a sample ballot.
WHY
The folks at Antigravity magazine put together a very good summary of what we will see on our Louisiana ballots this election:
This Louisiana election season, we will be voting in the presidential primary, electing a judge, and electing people to the Democratic and Republican parties in the state. This includes Democratic and Republican Parish Executive Committees and State Central Committees.
These committee representatives will put forward and support candidates who share the same ideals as their own. Locally, this is an opportunity to elect people who share our ideals, and who will in turn hopefully champion candidates who also espouse those values.
And this is a strange source, but Ben & Jerry’s has a surprisingly amazing blog presence and today I found a great post outlining the top reasons to vote in our respective local races. “Most of the things that impact your daily life happen on a local level and are influenced by local politics, but because we are bombarded by national stories every moment of every day, we find ourselves thinking nationally, not locally. It’s time for that to change.”
WHO
Who you vote is up to you, and we highly recommend doing research to make sure your voting choices align with your own values. If you don’t have tons of time to ask questions and research for yourself, there are sites and publications that make this part a little easier based on what you think is important.
Antigravity magazine is a go-to for me every election. They have a Liberal Democratic viewpoint and publish facts about candidates showing up on our local ballot. Check out their July issue online or in the stands for more information.
If you have a voter guide recommendation of your own, please comment here!
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