Leading up to Vote on Election Day....

As we’re fast approaching the elections, there may still be a lot of people out there who are unsure, undecided or haven’t made up their minds whether or not to vote.  Maybe you’re voting but you want to know what else you can do to get more people to vote. Or maybe you’re thinking of voting, but you’re confused or unsure of the voting ballot. A couple of ideas:

1. Vote for your choice for our next President.  If you’re unsure of all the issues on your voting ballot, don’t be discouraged. Just vote for the things you know about and skip the rest. People don’t seem to know that you don’t have to know everything about all the issues. Just vote about what you care about.

2. If you’re at the polls and you’re running into problems or hassles with your name on the polls, ask someone for help. Ensure that you get the right to vote. There are more people going to the polls and monitoring to make sure everyone who is registered has the right to vote. So don’t get discouraged, don’t give up, ask for help and demand that you get to cast your ballot.

3. If you’ve already made up your mind to vote….great!  Why don’t you call your family and friends and make sure that they are voting and if they need any answers, or help getting to the polls, offer to help them out. A trusted family member, friend, member of the community offers a lot of encouragement and trust to women voters.

4. How about taking your kids to polls with you on election day? The White House Project is encouraging people to Take Their Daughters/Kids  to the Polls and I’m going to do that myself. I’m taking my twin boys who are 5 years old to come with me to my voting location since they’ve been hearing me talk about this election for the past year now. They will remember and they will get to see their Mom participate in the electoral process. It’s establishing a new tradition for our family. Something my parents never did, since they never voted and I missed out on all that education and awareness.

5.  Why don’t you call up a friend or a group of friends and watch the election coverage and results together? This is a historic election and there will be a lot of exciting coverage and commentary to hear about. It will give you an opportunity to share the enthusiasm and excitement with others and feel connected.

6. If you’re thinking of sitting out the elections because you don’t like the candidates, etc. think about your parents, grandparents or other family members who sacrificed a lot to bring your family to the U.S. to enjoy the freedom of speech and the right to vote for elected officials. In many countries, people still don’t have the right to vote and participate in democracy.  So let’s use our vote and the privilege wisely.

7. How about thinking of the kids and people who can’t vote? Your vote for candidates who represent issues that affect all Americans is a critical one. How about voting for the people who can’t vote or who don’t currently have the right?

This is an exciting time and November 4, 2008 is right around the corner.  Mable

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