Where does the time go? It is election time again! That’s right, 2019 is an election year in certain areas, including Minnesota. Be sure to check out if your area is having an election on Tuesday, November 5th. Mark your calendars!
There are various ways to see if your area has an election. You can use your favorite search engine and type in “state elections 2019”, check Ballotpedia, look at your State Secretary of State’s page, or check your city’s page.
Now, some people think that votes don’t count. But they do! They really do, especially at the local level. Local governments get more done than the federal government, even though people tend to not focus as much on what is happening at the local level. It is important to vote because you are saying how your city, county, and state should be run; it is important to vote lest we continue to be in the fuck barrel. We are in a situation where Republicans don’t want you to vote (especially if you are a minority), where Voter ID laws are disenfranchising Americans, where white Americans are just now realizing that there is white supremacy, where civility gave us the current president. Get out there and vote. Your vote could be the one vote to swing an election. Know if you can leave work to vote. Know where to vote.
Every American deserves an equal vote. But in some states, access to voting is becoming less and less equal.
Here are some useful links:
https://www.vote.org/polling-place-locator/
http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx
https://ballotpedia.org/Same-day_voter_registration
https://www.nonprofitvote.org/voting-in-your-state/voter-registration-deadlines/
There is a map of general elections for Minnesota provided by the Office of Secretary of State. Minnesota elections include seats for the Anoka-Hennepin Board of Education District 1, Saint Paul Board of Education At-large, Ramsey County Board of Commissioners District 1, and Wards 1-7 for the City of Saint Paul. Being a resident of the City of Saint Louis Park, I am going to talk about who is running there. And remember that Saint Louis Park uses Ranked Choice Voting, so it is important to consider each candidate and whom you would like to have as an alternate (if you so wish - it is not mandatory to vote for more than one person). Let’s keep Minnesota #1 in voter turnout!
SAINT LOUIS PARK, HENNEPIN COUNTY (POPULATION 49,039)
Mayor:
Jake Spano (Incumbent) (Justin Grays Endorsed)
Yvette Baudelaire
Council Member Seat A:
Deb Brinkman
Steve Hallfin (Incumbent) (Justin Grays Endorsed)
Larry Kraft
Council Member Seat B:
Joseph Israel
Nadia Mohamed (Justin Grays Endorsed)
School Board Member (ISD #283) (Elect 4):
C. Colin Cox
Ken Morrison (Incumbent)
Laura McClendon
Jim Beneke (Incumbent)
Kari Ross
Jim Leuthner
Jessica Janoski
Heather Wilsey
Get out there and vote. Your vote matters. The government serves you - you are the boss. Tell them what you want done. Help us get out of the fuck barrel.
Videos to watch:
State AGs have become major partisan players in national politics, so the races to elect them are worth your attention.
State legislators pass a lot of bills, and some of that efficiency is thanks to a group called ALEC that writes legislation for them. It's as shady as it sounds!
The vast majority of US judges are elected, forcing many judges to pander to the electorate and accept campaign money in order to keep their jobs.
Special districts spend more public money than all city governments combined. That's odd considering most of us don't know they exist.
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