February 1, 2008

Super Tuesday: A Voter's Guide For Dummies, Like Me

Posted by Jamilah King at 12:00PM

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Reprints
• Share

I have a confession to make: I'm clueless when it comes to voting. Sure, I care about the issues and can see through most of the deceptive attack ad's on TV, but when it comes to the actual act of casting my ballot, I kind of shrug my shoulders and tell myself that I'll get around to it. And by "it" I mean figuring out what county I'm registered to vote in and what the particulars are of the measures that affect my city. Now, in a true procrastinator's fashion, I'm trying to do some last minute homework on how to make my vote count.

And I may not be the only one.

Super Tuesday is right around the corner, and while the Presidential Election is the hot ticket on the national agenda, important local ballot measures might be flying under the radar. Will your local community college raise fees next fall? Do you want more money to be put into parks and recreation centers around your area? Should term limits be extended for your state representatives? This is your chance to decide. In all, 24 states will be holding elections next Tuesday. Even if you haven't done your homework, you're in luck, because below is a list of helpful voter guides:

What are the issues on your local ballot?

The League of Young Voters has a comprehensive state-by-state list of voter guides at TheBallot.org.

Easy Voter has a simple mission: to make elections make sense. Their voter guides (pdf) are available in eight languages including English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and Tagalog.

Last Minute Basics

Register to Vote:
http://www.RocktheVote.com

Not sure, if you are registered, or in which county you registered?
This site will tell you:
https://votepoke.org/

Caucus and Primary Voter registration deadlines:
http://www.rockthevote.com/2008-presidential-primary-caucus-calendar.php#registrationdeadlines

Still not sure how caucuses and primaries work?
Check out "WireTap's Voting Cheat Sheet" by Ally Klimkoski.

Can't decide which Presidential candidate represents you the best?
Take this fun quiz at GlassBooth.org to get more pointers.
GlassBooth.org