This is US focused but the principle of being involved in local issues is universal to all democracies.
Can I rant for a minute?
Why does every thread about voting devolve into bitching about the flaws of the Electoral College?
Fun fact: the Electoral College only pertains to the Presidency and there’s almost nothing you can do about that directly.
Think local, that’s where you can make a difference. Your local school board has the power to either support students or drive them to suicide. Local races frequently turn on a handful of votes.
So go ahead, sit out the election because the choices for president stink. I humbly submit that your superior moral stance may not be based on very firm principles. That trans kid down the block didn’t need your help anyway. /s
You in Texas too? League of Women Voters, vote411.org, and ballotpedia.org are my first spots to go to find information. When I can’t find anything there, then I hit up Google. The reality is, though, that if I have to go to that effort to find out about a candidate, they’re probably not going to win anyway. At least where I am, thanks to gerrymandered districts, there are a lot of seats in the legislature where only one of the major parties runs a candidate. So it’s really in the primaries for those local positions that my vote has the most impact.
even in gerrymander districts voting in your opposition party primaries tactical voting can go a long way to help even if it means pushing a weaker opponent for the general.
For sure, yeah. I voted in the Republican primary this year. I’m fortunately in an urban area so at least for the most executive and legislative races I have a Democratic option in the general. There are a lot of judicial races though where I don’t.
yeah in those cases the only option is get involved and maybe run on the dem ticket. but I know that is easier said than done.