The presidential election is not for another month and a half, but its never to early to start researching candidates! Voting is an extremely important task and I urge everyone to exercise their right to vote. The internet makes voting and researching candidates so much easier, but it is important to make sure that you are getting non biased information. If you are like me and somehow miss all the speeches, especially the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, fear no more… (they are when most of us are working, what’s up with that?) You can catch them on iTunes for free! Just type in Republican or Democratic National Convention and they will have speeches from the candidates and VPs to download. You can even subscribe to podcasts of the candidates speeches.
Researching your Options
The internet is a great source of information and I think it will influence more people to vote than ever. We have a plethora of great resources online, but we just have to make sure we are getting accurate information. A great resource is Glassbooth.org which clearly and simply outlines the candidates’ views on important issues by inserting excerpts from speeches. After each excerpt, it states the date of the statement and gives a link to the full article where more can be read on the candidates’ opinions on that matter. It is a great place to go if you want instant information and don’t have too much time to devote to researching.
EasyVoter.org is another great place that outlines the candidates’ views side by side on important issues.
Votesmart.org is not as clearly outlined as glassbooth or easy voter, but provides more in depth detail on each candidate and links to speeches with thorough descriptions on each bill.
Another great resource is CNN politics.
And lets not forget youtube. You can search for a candidate’s speeches, but be weary of tricky editing. I would not rely on this as your only source of information.
Don’t forget to research the propositions as well.
Not only news sources are taking advantage of the web trends, the candidates are doing so as well! John McCain’s daughter has started a blog for their campaign and both candidates have official myspace pages that are part of the myspace Impact Channel. For more information on how the candidates are using the internet to spread their messages, visit techpresident.com.
Registration
Even in this digital era, unless you live in Arizona or Washington State (see article), you can’t register to vote online but you can go here and request a card be sent to you so you don’t have to leave the confort of your own home. You can also go to your local post office, library or registrar of voters to pick up the registration form.
If you live in San Diego but are not sure if you are registered you can check online.
If you wish to vote by mail, you can call the Registrar of Voters and request an application to vote by mail.
Voter registration cards are available at Post Office, Department of Motor Vehicles and Library buildings, as well as various City Clerk offices, and the San Diego Registrar of Voters at 5201 Ruffin Road, Suite I, San Diego (Kearny Mesa area)
Important Dates
October 20th is the last day to register to vote
October 28th is the last day to apply for a mail ballot
November 4th is election day day
Remember: you will need to re-register to vote if any of the following applies to you:
You have moved, even if you only moved across the street.
You have changed your name.
You want to change the political party you chose on your last registration form.
Maybe one of these days we will be able to cast our vote online, but until then, lets go to the polls and make it count!