Before You Vote: Three Things to Do

Maxwell Timmer, Staff Writer, Advanced Journalism

According to an article done by FiveThirtyEight, about 57% of voters voted in the 2016 presidential election. With elections coming up in Wisconsin for Governor, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, odd-numbered Wisconsin State Senate seats, and all Wisconsin Assembly seats, it’s important to research the candidates and vote. Here are three things voters should look at when deciding a candidate.

  1. What are you looking for in a candidate?

The first major thing to do is decide what you are looking for in a candidate. It’s important to rank what issues and qualifications are most important. For example, if you are pro-life, it’s crucial to find a candidate that will support and fight for that view.

  1. What are their qualifications?

One of the most important things you can do to research a candidate is looking at their qualifications. Experience in elected office, politics, or a career is key in determining if they are qualified for the position. Whether they are an experienced politician or successful in a career, it can show if they understand the depths of the position they are running for and if they can succeed in fighting for your causes.

  1. What are their plans to advance your views?

The major thing to look at is what a candidate has done or has promised to do for your view. Issues like abortion, education, health care, and immigration are key to research in a candidate and what they’ve done or promise to do to advance your view. If a candidate has experience in public office, it’s easy to research what they have done in office to further advance causes. If a candidate does not have experience in public office, you can still research plans and speeches that the candidate has done to see what they promise for the causes.

None of this is important unless you vote. Voting in Wisconsin is easy because there are  many ways to vote. You can send a ballot in by mail before the election, or you can go to a polling place near you on November 6th. If you are not in Wisconsin on November 6th, you can mail in your vote before. Registering to vote takes a short amount of time and you can do it online at .Voting is a right that we as United States citizens have, and it’s crucial we participate to continue democracy in the U.S.A.