Do Your Own Homework Before You Vote!

By Stacey Anter

The Library Detective

It’s October already! School is underway and kids are now well into doing their homework. But it’s also homework time for us. We need to do our homework before voting in the General Election. Even if you’re not interested in politics, it is still very important that you have your say. One way we can change things that we don’t like is to vote. Do your own homework! Find out what each candidate stands for, what they promise to do once in office, and don’t forget to check their past record. Does the candidate have any experience in doing what needs to be done, whether in the private sector or in the public? If the candidate held a previous office, what was their voting record like? How did they vote? Did they vote for what you wanted, or for what you are against?

In order to research candidates for office, first visit the Secretary of State’s website (http://sos.ri.gov/). Here you will find a copy of the election ballot for your district. You can also register to vote or update your voter registration. However, the deadline in order to vote in the November 4th election has passed. If you haven’t registered to vote, do it now so that you are ready vote in the next election. You can find out the basics, like who our current legislators are, where to vote according to your home address, what to do if you are disabled, or are physically unable to go out to vote, if you are on active duty and are overseas, voter guides, and much more. You can also declare your candidacy for office.

Once you know who your candidates are, you can research them online, usually by visiting their websites, such as Allan Fung (http://www.fungforgovernor.com/ ) and Gina Raimondo (http://www.ginaraimondo.com/ ). For local elections, such as for RI General Assembly, visit the State of RI General Assembly website (www.rilin.state.ri.us). I also found some websites where you can research voting records of legislators and their positions on many issues:

Rhode Island Votes http://www.rhodeislandvotes.org/ Look up local legislators’ positions

Project VoteSmart http://votesmart.org/ Facts about legislators and their votes, positions, speeches, and funding (local and national)

GovTrack.US https://www.govtrack.us/ Tracks US Congress voting

US Senate http://www.senate.gov/index.htm Go to Legislation and Records

US House of Representatives http://www.house.gov/

Library of Congress –THOMAS http://thomas.loc.gov Bills and resolutions, activities in congress, etc

Congress.gov https://www.congress.gov/ (Replaces LOC –Thomas) Legislation and congressional record.

Another important thing for which you should really do your homework is the list of questions that are posed on the election ballot. For example, one very important ballot question is Question #3 – Constitutional Convention. “Shall there be a convention to amend or revise the Constitution?” Knowing what the questions are before you are asked to vote on them is so very important because you don’t know what a Yes or a No will result in unless you research the issue. Be Informed. And if you’re not sure, find out.

Whatever you decide, go out and vote!

I call myself the Library Detective because I can find the answers to any question you can think of, or at least I can point you in the right direction. To find out more about voting, elections, and the Constitutional Convention, visit your local library; there are more Library Detectives there, too.