Voting

OOOVOTING


	OOOOften we hear the complaint: "My vote doesn't count". OOOOur reply, of course, is that the complaint is at once both patently untrue, and true enough to satisfy the requirements of a democracy. The fact of the matter is that anyone's vote counts as much as anyone else's; but that it counts only as much as anyone else's. OOOWhat our fellow citizens are whining about is not that their vote doesn't count, but that it isn't decisive. Well, no one's is decisive, it isn't supposed to be. We vote not because our measely vote makes the critical difference (though local elections, and sometimes even national ones give the lie to that assumption); but because it is our responsibility as citizens to vote. OOOSo the next time someone waves a flag in your face, for whatever reason, ask them about the last time they marked a ballot. If they sniff derisively, laugh, or simply can't remember, remind them that no flag can make a patriot of a citizen who doesn't respect their nation enough to fulfill their responsibilities toward it. OOOOur first is simply to cast the ballot that thousands of our fellow citizens have died to guarantee not only for ourselves, but for countless peoples around the world.



p	HOW DOES IT WORK?
		The sites below explain the process of American elections.
		Elections...the American Way
			Basic information on candidates, voters, the party system, the election process and issues from the Library of Congress.
		USA.Gov: Voting and Elections
			From within the USA.Gov website, general information, education materials, election history, election reform, a list of campaign finance laws and voting legislation, an explanation of the electoral college and way of contacting your elected officials.
		President Elect
			"The Unofficial Homepage of the Electoral College", provides a copy of Chapter 1 of Title 3 of the United States Code covering the election of the President as well as a list of all presidential election results. See, too, Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections



p	HOW DO I GET STARTED?
		First, you have to register. You can fill out the form on line, print it and send it in. Use the registration page on Rock the Vote, or The League of Women Voters. You might also try DeclareYourself.com, which provides an online registration form, but which still requires you to mail it to state voting officials. JustVote.org provides you with PDF versions of your state's application...but you still have to send it in.


p	WHERE DO I VOTE?
		At your official polling place, or by absentee ballot, if you qualify. Unfortunately, we have so far found no single web site providing polling locations. However, Vote America, the official web site of the National Association of Secretaries of State provides links to individual state election commissions. Most are pretty dreadful. If you can't find your polling place there, there is also the site of the National Association of State Election Directors (click on the blue map), or you can call your local county clerk.