Primaries Voting Day

Today is the day for voting in the primary elections! Have you made your voice count yet?

I live in New Hampshire. Many people still call New Hampshire the “First in the Nation,” but Iowa currently has that title. (Well, there are many ways I could sideline the Iowa caucuses, but I’ll concede that their constituents voted first.) Still, my pretty-purple state has a decent lead on Super Tuesday, and I’m interested to see how much the nation reflects on what happens here today and into the wee hours of the morning as the votes are finally tallied.

There are many candidates running this year: thirty-three on the democratic ticket ballot and seventeen on the republican ticket ballot. Yes, you read that right: there are sixteen people contesting the incumbent from within in the party. Oh, and the other party decided to one-up the previous election’s high number of primary candidates for any party by doubling it. That’s a lot of contestants for a game show with a winner of one.

Are we feeling a little ridiculous yet?

New Hampshire rules permit a person only to vote in the primary of the party which they are affiliated with. Normally, that means that anyone affiliated with the Grand Old Party walking into the polls today would have been told thanks, but no thanks. Most states are holding primaries for both parties. This is why I highlight the urge to vote: everyone should get out and vote this primary season, regardless of party affiliation.

That includes people like me – the undeclared voter, otherwise known as the independent or unaffiliated voter. In New Hampshire, if you are not officially with a party, you get to walk in, declare a party, vote in that party’s primary, and (if you wish) re-un-declare as you walk out. It’s rather awesome: I got to pick the contest my vote might matter for. If you knew my history (consistently cheering on the underdog because decent humans tend to be in that category), that would be borderline laughable. Though I did canvass for a candidate who miraculously won once… Anyway, I figured the majority of the action would be with the blue ballots, so that was my party of choice for twenty minutes.

I did my research, so no, I didn’t just walk in, see the blue pile was smaller, and pick that one. Gimme a li’l credit, mmm’kay? Research is an important component because you should know what you’re getting yourself (and your countrymen) into. It’s a lot better to vote for someone because they have sound policy ideas and leadership skills than because they have a cute name and the cutest Wikipedia picture. Yes, that was a value judgement, and I hope others share it.

During my research, I identified where the candidates fell on issues that are important to me. Do you have non-negotiable issues? What top traits are you looking for in a candidate? What do you want your candidate to fight for if they make it into office? What do you believe in?

There are a number of quizzes you can take online for free to get you thinking about specific issues, how much those issues mean to you, and who you agree with most. Caution on how you use them: I have yet to find any that allow me to sort by my non-negotiables, so candidates I agree with on many things but not on the important thing rank highly. They are worth checking out, but they are better for seeking matching the balance of your values as opposed to a particular issue.

Armed with the facts, I voted. I invite you to do the same: do some soul searching, check out the issues, and assess where the candidates fall on the issues, then make your voice heard at the ballot box. Who are you supporting this election year? Why? Where do you want the country to go from here? Where are we aiming to land? What are we doing well, and what should we prioritize changing? What do you want tomorrow to look like?

Quite possibly my favorite thing about tomorrow is that there will be no more canvassers knocking at my door trying to convince me to vote for some candidate or other. Props to the volunteers for their efforts; I applaud people for standing up for what they believe in. Regardless, I’m looking forward to not debating political ideology on the front porch without a coat in the middle of winter.

I look forward to tomorrow. How about you?