Why vote?
Your vote is your voice! We use
VOTING 2.0
Becoming a rational voter in 2017
What is voting?
According to dictionary.com, voting is
used to express a wish to follow a
particular course of action. This
means that voting is your voice in a
decision!
Voting in the government!
In the United States Government, we
vote for the President and his Vice-
President, Senators, and members of
the House of Representatives. On a
state level we vote for the Governor.
On a county level we vote for a mayor
and county council members, and on a
city level we vote for a mayor and city
council members as well. We may
also be able to vote for small
legislation in our local areas!
voting as a way to elect those people
who we think will represent ourselves,
our beliefs, and our opinions. If you
dont vote, you give up your chance to
have a say in what happens with our
government.
History of Voting
Originally, only white males over the
age of 21 were eligible to vote, but the
times have changed!
Shortly after the Civil War had ended
in the 1800s, the 14th and 15th
Amendments to the Constitution were
passed, giving black African American
males the right to vote. Men of all
races should be allowed to vote. They
did have some struggles getting to the
voting booth at first because of all the
hoops they were forced to jump
through including poll taxes,
grandfather clauses, and literacy tests,
but eventually they were able to vote
without too many complications due
to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed
by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

African American people lined up to vote in 1965.
Women were given the right to vote in
the 1920s when the 19th Amendment
was passed! Before this amendment
was passed, women were allowed to
vote in some states, but only in local
government elections.
Who is eligible to vote?
There are 3 requirements to be able to
vote!
18 years old or older
United States citizen
Have resided in the U.S. for at
least 30 days
How do I vote?
In order to vote, you need to register!
After you register, go to your local
voting booth on election day and cast
your vote. You can also have ballots
sent to you that you can mail in after
you decide who to vote for.
How do I register to vote?
Registering to vote is easy! Go to
vote.org, click on register to vote,
scroll down and click on the state you
need to register in, and fill in the short
information section, and continue
throughout the rest of the form. It
should only take about 2-3 minutes,
and then you are registered to vote at
the next election!
On this website you can also find out
your registrations status, and get an
absentee ballot if you are unable to go
vote at an election booth on election
day.
To register by mail, complete a State
of Utah Mail-In Voter Registration
Form and send it to your local county
clerks office.
To register in person you can go to
the DMV and they will do it while you
apply or renew your license. You can
also go to your county clerks office,
or another approved location.
Registration Deadlines
If you register in person or online, you
need to do it at least 7 days before the
next election. If you register by mail,
you need to send it in at least 30 days
before election day.
When do I vote?
Federal elections are held on the first
Tuesday of November, after the first
Monday in November. Every 2 years
we vote for members of the House of
Representatives, and of the Senate.
We vote for the President every four
years.
State and local governments are able
to hold elections whenever they need
to re-elect officials or pass some sort
of legislation.
What do I take with me when I
go to vote?
In order to vote, you need to forms of
identification. This includes a driver's
license or state id card, social security
card, birth certificate, a bill or mail
postmarked to the voter, or a valid
U.S. passport.
Using Your Resources
When its time to choose who to vote
for, its important to do your research
and find the candidate who you think
will do the best job. There are some
fantastic resources to use, but there
are also some to stay clear of. It is
also important to realize that there
will be bias in most sources, so you
have to be careful about what
information you use.
Good Resources to Use
League of Women Voters -
lwv.org
Govtrack.us
Whitehouse.gov, senate.gov,
house.gov
Personal websites of candidates
Resources to Stay Away From
Many news sources are biased
one way or the other
Sites run by private voters
Sites run by organizations will
most likely be biased
 Parties
There are five different major political
parties. They are the Democratic,
Republican, Libertarian, Green, and
Constitution parties. The Democratic
and Republican parties are the most
common in the government today,
and they are also the oldest, both
being founded in the mid 1800s.
The Democratic party is considered to
be the more liberal party. They
believe that government intervention
is okay in most situations, and that
things should be more heavily
regulated by the government. They
generally tend to spend more money
on programs for the people.
The Republican party is considered to
be the more conservative party. They
dont want the government to play a
big role in the everyday lives of the
citizens. They tend to not spend as
much money on programs that they
deem unnecessary.
Big Issues of Today
Healthcare
Many Americans are uninsured
because of the cost of getting private
health insurance. The Affordable Care
Act, also known as Obamacare, was
implemented to provide health care
that all Americans could afford, but
its not working exactly the way it was
supposed to.
Abortion
The right to life has been a big
controversial topic the past couple
years. It all comes down to the
personal belief whether life begins at
conception, or if life begins at birth.
Immigration
The United States is allowing more
and more immigrants to cross our
borders each day, but with the rising
threat of terrorism this can be very
risky. We also have to think about
overpopulation, and how many people
we can support.
Now that you know
what to do
GO VOTE!
Megan Johnson
Pols 1100 - Mr. Ferlo - Pd. 1
March 30, 2017