Why You Should Fill Out a Sample Ballot Before Election Day

By Lily Herman


As soon as it comes to filling out your ballot on Election Day, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the choices as a voter. Right considering that, ballots don’t just include the competitive federal races we’ve been hearing about in the news. There really are plenty of key smaller state and local campaigns, not to say life-changing ballot measures, that never make headlines.


Luckily, there really are ways to create. This election cycle there really are comprehensive apps, like BallotReady, that permit you to be able to see every seat and initiative that’s on the docket for voters and give you the possibility to learn more about candidates and visualize their offer stances. Here’s why you need to get more informed on the multiple small battles taking place in your area.


State and Local Legislators Affect Your Day-to-day Life


While much of the horse race coverage we visualize in the news and on TV is reserved for federal races, the people you elect on the state and local level have more of an impact on the daily life of your community. “State legislators, mayors, and city council members make key decisions on everything from affordable housing to public transportation to criminal justice reform,” says Monica Klein, Founding Partner of Seneca Strategies, a progressive political consulting firm.


Think that’s an exaggeration? You’d be surprised how several big decisions in your area are made by city-level officials as instead of your congressperson, and so they can have ripple effects. For instance, Klein notes, the school board of Santa Rosa County in Florida made the choice to replace sex education standards set in place by the state’s Department of Health and promote abstinence-only sex education to students, a choice that directly affects the reproductive health of hundreds of thousands of young people for years to come.


And in Virginia, the 2017 state elections have had a direct impact on residents’ healthcare. Atima Omara, Founder and President of Omara Plan of action Group, says that the state’s Medicaid expansion, which brought healthcare to 400,000 Virginians, was only able to happen right after a cooperative governor and lieutenant governor were elected, not to say multiple new state legislators. “Because of our victories in 2017, we have been able make sure more Virginians get the healthcare they need,” she explains.


Ballot Measures Make a Difference


There’s more on your ballot that just candidates. All states feature various local and state initiatives that can enhance your area, and it’s essential to know what’s on the line.


Just how high-stakes do these initiatives get? One ballot measure in Massachusetts, as an example, is asking voters if they hope to keep new statewide legislation in place that prohibits discrimination in public spaces on the basis of gender identity. If most of them of people vote “no” on the measure and the law, which was enacted in 2016, is repealed, it would put the transgender community susceptible to losing legal accommodations and protections.


Meanwhile in Florida, voters are deciding whether or not to lift the state’s lifetime voting ban on convicted felons who’ve completed their sentences. Currently, Florida is one of only four states with a lifetime ban; the legislation affects nearly 1.4 million Floridians, roughly 20% of whom are Black. A “yes” vote on Amendment 4 reinstates voting rights, while a “no” upholds the lifetime ban. There really are serious implications no matter how Floridians vote.


While state and local races might not directly get all the big press that the big congressional races do—and ballot measures aren’t routinely the most exhilarating policies to read through—they’re key for making your voice heard, especially at a time once our federal government has but to defeat bigger problems.


“As we visualize the federal government trying to erode our human and constitutional rights, the power of our state legislatures has never been more important,” explains Marisa Kabas of Crush The Midterms, a digital tool that assists the people make personal plans for supporting competitive campaigns. “Issues ranging from minimum wage to reproductive rights and gun safety live and perish by our states' governing bodies, and it's time we take candidates running for them just as seriously as we do congressional and presidential elections.”