In about a month, we are all going to have some awesome opportunities to speak our minds and let the people who are running our nation know how we feel….through voting. Every two years we have an election, either a Presidential election or a Midterm election. Here are the differences between the two…
- Presidential – Every four years (the next one will be 2012) we have a Presidential election where we elect a President & Vice President, we elect U.S. Representatives, some Senators are up for reelection, and the same thing happens on the state level. We elect a Governor, state Representatives, some state Senators, as well as some state elected officials (secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction, etc.)
- Midterm – In between Presidential elections, we have elections for U.S. and state representatives, some U.S. and state Senators, and the state elected officials who were not elected in the Presidential election year.
Now in addition to these, there are also county and city offices that are elected during both of these elections, so don’t forget about those, even though I didn’t include them. They are still important too! But since the election is rapidly approaching, I want to encourage everyone to educate themselves on the issues and on the candidates running for office. This is going to be a very important election for all of us, so it is important that the real will of the people shows through the way we vote. So, what can you do??? I will tell you.
- Register to vote if you haven’t! If you are 18….you best be votin’. Vote early and vote often!
- Educate yourself on the issues/candidates. If you don’t have a clue what is going on….google it. I found this site that gives all of the candidates in Indiana, and it isn’t too hard to find information on those candidates or candidates in other states.
- Vote on November 2….or get an absentee ballot! You can get information about this at your Secretary of State’s website…..because they are in charge of elections in each state.
So, in keeping with the theme of government, I am going to leave you with one of my favorite sights from my family’s trip to D.C….Capitol Hill at night. 
Capitol Hill at night...I love it....
But here is something that I enjoy as well…. when I went home, I noticed something different about our election signs in our yard. We have a rather large yard, and part of it is a hill and another part is flat, so we always put our signs on the flat part of the yard that runs alongside the highway. This year is different though. My Dad is a Republican, and my Mom is a Democrat, and they each have their own set of signs, on opposite sides of the yard. Dad’s are on the hill, and Mom’s are on the flat part. I find it rather humorous though…and random? I guess this is what happens when they have an empty nest. I just wonder what will be next….haha. Oh and the other day I got my first call for a poll…it was pretty exciting. Not really, but now I guess I’m a part of the numbers they talk about all the time….that’s pretty sweet. But yeah….make sure you get out there and vote!!! Remember, vote early and vote often! 
