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sathariIf you're in the US and thus gearing up for the midterm elections, your state may have already made a provisional ballot available to you somewhere. Places to look are your secretary of state's website, your state and/or local Democratic party's websites, and I also know of at least one state that prints the ballots in the state and local papers ahead of time, so checking your newspapers' websites and print editions may bear fruit.
Chances are that you already know who you're voting for in the big races (governor, US representative, US Senator, etc.) or at least what party you're voting for, but this is a chance to check out the downballot, as well as any local and at-least-supposedly-non-partisan races that you might have overlooked--- and, especially, any statewide referenda or other statewide legislation that's on the ballot before you get to the ballot box and are surprised.
In particular, if your state is like mine, they print the numbers of the state legislature bills on which referenda, etc., are based along with the title of the item. This means that you can go to the TrackBill mobile app, select your state, and input the bill number to see things like the text of the bill and--- this is important--- the sponsors, including their party affiliation (which also allows you to search up things like their biographies, to see where their interests and opinions might lie on a specific piece of legislation). In my state's case, they are really good at giving innocuously worded titles for referenda, so seeing who's behind the legislation is a big help in deciding whether to support it. I just spent a lovely hour or so looking up various measures on the ballot and making sure I understand the wording so I can vote in the direction I want to, and it's probably the happiest I've felt about the fate of the world since sometime around Kavanaugh's nomination.
Also, for anyone who's not signed up for MoveOn.org's Resist and Win calls and would like to be, here's a link to do so. There's one tomorrow night on (if I understand the description) activism/voting as a whole-family activity.
Chances are that you already know who you're voting for in the big races (governor, US representative, US Senator, etc.) or at least what party you're voting for, but this is a chance to check out the downballot, as well as any local and at-least-supposedly-non-partisan races that you might have overlooked--- and, especially, any statewide referenda or other statewide legislation that's on the ballot before you get to the ballot box and are surprised.
In particular, if your state is like mine, they print the numbers of the state legislature bills on which referenda, etc., are based along with the title of the item. This means that you can go to the TrackBill mobile app, select your state, and input the bill number to see things like the text of the bill and--- this is important--- the sponsors, including their party affiliation (which also allows you to search up things like their biographies, to see where their interests and opinions might lie on a specific piece of legislation). In my state's case, they are really good at giving innocuously worded titles for referenda, so seeing who's behind the legislation is a big help in deciding whether to support it. I just spent a lovely hour or so looking up various measures on the ballot and making sure I understand the wording so I can vote in the direction I want to, and it's probably the happiest I've felt about the fate of the world since sometime around Kavanaugh's nomination.
Also, for anyone who's not signed up for MoveOn.org's Resist and Win calls and would like to be, here's a link to do so. There's one tomorrow night on (if I understand the description) activism/voting as a whole-family activity.
