Everyone is saying to vote right now and I think it’s hard to feel motivated to go vote when our political system is so complex and you might not know where to start. ⠀

True story – despite going to social work school and being super passionate about social justice issues – I’ve never done well in my government classes. Knowledge about the political system just doesn’t seem to stick in my brain very well! ⠀

Now, I could sit here and think there’s something wrong with me, but I don’t actually think I am alone in this. So, let’s break this down together. ⠀

Early voting for the midterm elections runs from Monday, Oct. 22 through Friday, Oct. 26, and Oct. 29 through Oct. 31, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Polls will be open during early voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27 and Thursday and Friday, Nov. 1 and 2.

The main election will take place on November 6th. These mid-term elections are VERY competitive and important for restoring balance to our political system.⠀

Now, you don’t want to go to the polls unprepared because the ballot will just look like a bunch of names and you might vote for people based on assumptions of their policies based on assumptions of their race or gender based on assumptions about their names. That doesn’t always pan out the way we want it to. ⠀

So, when it comes to determining who to vote for, I just want to validate that it’s really freaking hard to follow who’s who and what’s what, given how busy our lives can get.

So, please, carve out some time do some research on who you want to vote for. You can’t use your mobile device at the polls, so if you can’t remember the names of who you want to vote for – then I recommend going old school and writing them out with a pen and paper. Paper is allowed at the polls. ⠀

Here are some resources to help you out: League of Women Voters Guides, Vote411 and Vote.Org⠀