Election Day Is Fast Approaching: Become An Informed Voter the Easy Way
October 25, 2022 10:00 am
Columbia County Observer graphic
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – With the 2022 midterm elections fast approaching, it is time to put on your thinking cap, learn about the candidates and the issues, and prepare to vote. Ballotpedia and the Columbia County Supervisor of Elections give you a leg up.
Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States.
The website was founded in 2007 and is sponsored by the Lucy Burns Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Middleton, Wisconsin. Ballotpedia is written and edited by a paid professional staff. Ballotpedia employs writers and researchers, and reported an editorial staff of over 50 in 2021.
Ballotpedia and the County Supervisor of Elections
They Make It Easy to be Informed
Ballotpedia has a form on its main page (you may have to scroll down a bit), allowing you to fill in your street, city, and state and see who is running. Some districts in Columbia County are voting for school board candidates. Even if you are not in those districts, Ballotpedia tells you who they are.
Tomi Brown and the County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) team also make it easy to check if you are registered and view a sample ballot, which is not so easy to read on their website.
See page one of the SOE ballot here, and page two, here.
To check your voter information at the County Supervisor of Elections website, go to Voter Information Lookup
Reasons To Vote and Vote Often
• Every vote matters. Elections have consequences
You have the power to make important decisions on the quality of life you want for yourself, your family, and your community. Voting is your chance to stand up for the issues you care about.
Midterm and local elections typically see less voter turnout than presidential elections. The lower the turnout, the more important local issues are determined by a limited group of voters. Your single vote is statistically more meaningful this year.
Candidates and propositions you support may fail if you stay home.
• It’s your right. Not voting is giving up your voice.
Today, Columbia County has 42,776 registered voters.
Most American citizens over 18 are entitled to vote in Columbia County.
Voting was not always for everyone because the Constitution did not specifically say who could vote. In the 1800s, the question of who could vote was left to the states.
America has a history of voter discrimination. However, over time black folk and women gained the right to vote.
While certain groups are no longer explicitly excluded, voter suppression is a problem in many parts of the country.
It took many years of marching, protesting, and fighting for all citizens to have the right to vote. Use your right. Exert your power.
• It’s Your Money
Every person in the County pays taxes – citizens and non-citizens. Most people don't know how that money is being used; in Columbia County, that includes some of the City Council and County commissioners.
In Florida, voting is your chance to choose how your elected officials spend your tax dollars, which in this year’s midterm, includes a regressive sales tax proposition brought to you by the County School Board.
• Voting is an opportunity for change
Voting gives you the chance to vote for change. While you may not see social issues on the ballot, those you vote for will be instrumental in determining social issues like gay marriage, reproductive rights and abortion, environmental issues, and public education, among others.
To have a say in determining who gets to decide the social agenda, you need to vote.
Epilogue
People have died defending the American Constitution and your right to vote.
Making the decision to vote respects those that have come before us and gives you and those around you a voice in the future.
