Emily Andersen

Reach for the Ballot

September 30, 2015

Voters, Are You Ready?

To be a Good Citizen, You Must be an Informed

Voter!

Take control of your future! Voting is one of the most important things you will
ever do. It gives you the power to cause change. It is not only your privilege, but it
is your right as a citizen of the United States to select your leaders, so that you can
have a voice in decisions and laws of the land you live in.

Political Parties:
Before you can vote, you have to understand the
candidates. The most basic way to describe a
candidate is as a republican or democrat.
Remember that each candidate will have their
own beliefs and you should look into them
beyond just their parties, but it is a good place to
start. First lets find out
what your own beliefs are,
and whether they lean more towards republican or
democrat. There are many quizzes and tests online that
can help to give you an idea. Its advisable to take
multiple and decide which ones seem more accurate.
You can find a political typology quiz at http://www.peoplepress.org/quiz/political-typology/. It might be a good place to start.
Candidates:
Now that you know what your beliefs are, you can compare them to the
beliefs of each candidate and begin to make a decision. For practice, there
are some example candidates listed below. Read through the descriptions,
and decide who you would vote for if this is who was running for president.
Then ask yourself why. As soon as you can answer that question
satisfactorily, you are ready to move on to real candidates.
RePUPlicans:
Theodore (Teddy) Bear believes that every American has the right to increase
his or her own standing in the world. Nothing can hold us back. He promises
to oppose any policies that will give the federal government control over

industry and individual business. The people should

decide how they want to earn money and what they
are going to do with it.

Sheisa Mops first action as president would be to

outlaw the death penalty in all states. She believes in
love and forgiveness towards others. Death is never
the answer. Americans must support one another.
She is also strongly opposed to abortion and
marijuana because death is never the answer.
May B. Afox wants to focus on keeping America out of
war. She claims that we need to take care of our own
before we can take care of others. Some specific
things she wants to fix within our own borders are
illegal immigration, the debt, and affirmative action
(the preference of racially diverse people over those
who may be more qualified.)

DemoCATS:
Minerva Mcgonagall is pro-choice. She wants to make
sure all Americans have the opportunity to pursue
happiness, however that may be. She believes that to
force two people who love each other not to marry, or
to force a woman whos unprepared to have a child
she didnt want is unfair. What people want to do is
up to them, and no one else should have a say,
especially the government.

Nas Goatee is a firm believer in education. He grew up in a rough

neighborhood where it was hard to get a good education. He believes the

federal government should be allowed to regulate the

educational system, to make sure that all students
have the same opportunities. If no one was educated,
we wouldnt ever be able to accomplish anything, in
our government or elsewhere.

Harry Bald hopes to be the next Barack Obama. He

especially supports the affordable care act, and wants
to build upon it when he is the president. He believes
that assuring that everyone has healthcare is an
essential part of freedom. America was born from a
desire for freedom and Bald wants to keep that desire
alive forever.

Time to Vote!
Now that you have an idea of your
beliefs and you know how to pick a
candidate, its time to go out and do it for
real. This requires a little bit of effort on
your part. Youll have to do some research,
watch political debates, and learn about the
candidates. Be careful not to base your
opinions off of political ads. You cant learn
much about a person in a twenty second ad.
can only learn what they want you to.

You

When voting day comes along and youre all prepared and ready to go,
make sure you know where youre going. You can look up online where the
nearest poll station is to you, or you can send your ballot in through the mail.
In Salt Lake City, Utah, in order to vote through the mail you have to go to
https://slco.org/clerk/elections/ and download an application for a ballot by

mail. Other cities have similar websites and similar ways to receive the
ballot, so find the one for your city.
Filling out a Ballot:
Just like a standardized test, you have to make sure you fill in the
bubble next to your candidate all the way. That is, if youre using a pen.
Sometimes you are given a whole punch instead. If this is the case, make
sure to steady your hand. You dont want to punch the wrong candidate by
accident!