Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Come on People! Don't Just Vote - Vote SMART!

Can you believe it?! The election is almost here! I can feel the energy as we enter the final turn and make the run for home plate. I have always been interested in the election. Exercising my right to vote has always been an important task. Let me tell you - the year the Multnomah County Elections Office screwed up my mail in ballot and I didn't get to vote - I thought I was going to freak! I felt horrible and it wasn't even my fault. How could I not vote given that so many people around the world aren't given the opportunity and are fighting to check a box. (Did anyone catch the NPR - perhaps World Have Your Say - discussion about voting and if we should feel the same about voting in every country. Just because we value it here, doesn't mean that we should expect people to feel the same about the right to vote/not vote in their own country....hmm, that will make you think.)

No matter how you are voting - hey that's a personal thing - I say VOTE SMART! Get as much information as you can to make the informed decision that is right for you.

I recently had a family member tell me that my candidate of choice doesn't vote in the Senate. They don't show up and they rarely vote. Now, I immediately balked at that idea... it just didn't seem like a sane accusation. So, whats a girl to do but to research my candidates voting record.

After some googling (can we use this as a verb now?) I ended up at www.votesmart.org. This site is wonderful. You can search all sorts of information regarding the election - including the entire voting record for both candidates. And guess what? I took the time to count: for the time period of 2005-2008, BOTH candidates had an almost even record for NO votes. AHA! My relatives accusation is blown out of the water!

Check it out. Learn something. Vote. Vote Smart.

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