In fifteen days Americans will go to the polls and get our vote on. A bitch adores voting...the excitement, the anticipation and the satisfaction of adding my voice to the process and making my wishes known. I teach voter education classes at local women's shelters so I also get the honor of watching young women who are particularly vulnerable to legislative drama cast their first vote.
On Election Day I will drive my students to their polling place knowing that they know their rights and what they are voting for. It sounds so simple...and yet too many of us vote against something rather than for something.
I encourage all ya'll to ask yourself why you vote and what you are voting for.
Trust a bitch, the answers will guide your decisions more than you know.
What matters to you?
And let me be clear...I'm not just talking about the presidential election. On November 4th we'll be voting for a hell of a lot more than who the next president will be.
If you don't know who your state representative and senator are look their asses up! Get to know their records and their policy positions. Call the candidates up and ask questions...research ballot initiatives so that the wording is familiar rather than a surprise. If there is a proposition on the ballot take some time and find out what is being proposed and how it will impact your life.
For all the talk about elections being popularity contests, we the people are somewhat to blame. When we fail to vote from a place of knowledge...fail to challenge and question...and walk into our polling place knowing that our ass is about to wing it, we aren't doing our job.
And our job doesn't end when the polls close.
Prepare to get your oversight on post election, because we are the ones who are responsible for holding elected officials accountable.
After the Missouri primary I dropped my students off at the shelter and was about to leave when one student asked me to wait a minute so she could show me something. She rushed back to her room and returned with a legal pad in hand. I took the offered pad and looked at the neat writing that filled it from top to bottom...she had written down her choices complete with bullet points on each candidates key issues.
When I asked her why she didn't take the pad with her when she went to vote she rolled her eyes and laughed at me.
"This is for the after part, Ms. Shark-Fu!"
Fantabulous.
The vote is when our work begins...and after the election our work must continue.
We're at fifteen days and counting, y'all.
Be ready.
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i can honestly say, that when i go to vote, i'm not really voting for me.
i realize i've been handed the luck card - i'm white, born to educated parents, educated myself, family business, blah blah blah.
it's not to make myself feel better, but i realize a lot of people weren't born with that luck and i vote for the changes i think will better their reality.
because i truely believe we are only as good as our poorest citizen, our most un-educated citizen, our sickest citizen.
and yes, we do need to make sure we stay on our elected officials.
i think that's going to happen. but i think we're going to see more cooperation between the people and the goverment.
it's going to be a hard road ahead, but i honestly believe we, the people, are going to have an active voice and are going to be included to a degree we haven't seen in a long time.
I work the polls and I encourage other people to do it, too. I like showing that politics--and the political process--matter to me, a 24 year old woman.
I teach at an independent progressive school, which means we can do things like shut classes down for all juniors and seniors on Election Day and have them work the polls instead. Which is what we did. I'll spend this Nov 4 visiting my students at their stations (after I poll my own vote, of course).
I admire that you model REAL citizenship to your students so well. I can only hope that my school continues to do the same.
I added Feministing to my Google Reader a long time ago, but I just wanted to stop in and say that I've loved every "Notes from a bitch" you've written here. Keep it up!!
Thanks for pointing out that we're voting for more than a president. Local politics can affect us even more so than what's going on in DC - it's really important to know which judges are on the benches and who's in your statehouse and who's making the decisions in your community.
I'm a working class white woman who understands that the ruling class uses horizontal hostility to oppress all people who aren't part of the rich male and mostly right wing ruling elites.
Today is the first day of early voting here in Texas and I am voting for hope not hate. I was a Clinton supporter but just as easily an Obama supporter. Membership in the Democratic party was the most important thing and it is time for a president who isn't a white man.
So today I will cast my straight party ballot for the Democratic party and rejoice that I am not only making history by voting for Obama but am voting to keep Lupe Valdez, a lesbian woman of color as Dallas County Sheriff.
We got our ballots on Saturday morning and last night I, Peter, and his brother Dan, sat down and filled them out. Dan was so excited, (this is his first presidential election), that he had me take a picture of him with his ballot filled in for Barack Obama. (You can see my ballot at Art of the Possible.)
This year was my first time voting outside Washington's 8th congressional district (Seattle), and consequently, a congressman other than Jim McDermott. Jay Inslee, however, is as progressive and I was happy to vote for him.
Chris Gregoire, our fantastic governor, is having some trouble against Dino Rossi, but I just hope that Washingtonians are smart enough to realize that our economic stability (relatively speaking) is due to her policies and Dino Rossi would destroy all of the things that we've worked so hard for -- like birth control, safe abortions, and health care for kids even when their parents can't afford it.
We've got a number of ballot initiatives this year (including another one from Tim Eyeman, whom I want to strangle). I-1000, the Death with Dignity initiative, I ended up voting for because (like with abortion) it's not up to the government to decide when someone can end their life... I can't support suicide, even in terminal cases, but I'm not in the shoes of those who desire "death with dignity", so I'm not going to attempt to make the decision for them. I hope it passes, even though the idea of suicide always makes me very sad.
Thanks for writing this. I asked my mom about her elections and she told my point blank "I don't know. I'm going in there with a quarter." I couldn't believe my ears. I would like to think that I take a lot after my mother, but I think there are some parts of me that I got from myself. The fact that I take the time to research candidates and that I watch the debates. I take things from both views and square it out. I don't think I got these from my mother. I got these from me. I wish I told her what I thought, but I don't think she would've appreciated it. So thanks for being there with me. You should always see who you're voting for.
I would have loved to have worked the polls this year but discovered that you have to be nominated by the party in my state to do it. Is this normal or just Oklahoma's messed-up way of doing things?
I started my voting life in Washington, and then moved here a few years ago. It amazes me how hard it is to simply inform oneself here! In Washington, there were articles in the indie newspaper on local politics plus another entire indie newspaper with even more political stuff. Voting was always one time each year as far as I could tell, and we would get a packet well before it with all of the candidates and propositions in it called a "Voters Guide". Here, the indie newspaper hardly mentions local politics and the non-indie newspapers are horribly slanted. Voting seems to happen at the most random of times and there is no Voters Guide. I haven't had much of a chance to do research because 1) I'm very busy so I always forget to look in those rare moments when I actually have the time, and 2) I have no idea where to even find out who is running and what the propositions are anyway.
Well I just got back from voting. Large turn out for advanced voting, more than I've seen in the past. I think this is going to be huge. I voted straight Democratic because hope beats hate.
I can't wait for Election Day to come. I live across the street from an elementary school- my polling place- in a college town, and am going to put a big sign that says "JUST VOTE 2008" in my front yard tommorrow-- you know, for the parents of the trick-or-treaters who are coming out next week. I can't understand people who don't vote: when I turned 18, I decided that it was my responsibility to vote in every election that I could vote in from then until the end of my life. I'm 23 now, and I have a great collection of "I voted" stickers. For your work with women regarding voting, I really, really just want to say "YOU GO GIRL!!!"
I stopped commenting at feministing a few months ago because I just really had a hard time with the topics that writers were blowing into issues. I love when you post. You're a breath of fresh air. Maybe I'll repost my "Why I voted for you" blog, slated for November 5th, in the community section.
well i, myself, is in the process of studying the props. yeah, i know, what about all the candidate. well i wasn't thinking of them until now.
anyway...
speaking about popularity contest, it reminded me of a video me and my sister saw(well actually heard because it was mainly about the audio). it's really funny how some people have no clue what they are actually voting for. they just seem to follow the crowd. just listen to it and you will laugh at people's stupidity. here it is:
sorry, i forgot to put the link in. my mind's been awfully crazy lately.
well here is is for sure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5p3OB6roAg