Every four years during election season, the spotlight shines on the presidential campaigns. After all, it’s a race to determine the next leader of our country in which high-profile candidates sometimes shamelessly do whatever it takes to win.
The recent presidential debate sparked an argument about whether Gov. Mitt Romney or President Barack Obama had won. Hours were spent dissecting each candidate’s answers and body language, and how the outcome of the debate influenced voters.
It’s important to understand each presidential candidate’s platform to make an educated decision, and the importance of the 57th presidential election shouldn’t be downplayed. But remember the other issues at stake when you mark your ballot Nov. 6.
Resolutions affecting agriculture, animal rights and wildlife, taxes and crime are all on the ballot for Idaho voters this year. Proposition 1, 2 and 3 affect education, including performance-based pay for teachers and state funding to provide laptops for high school students. There are also statewide elections for representative and senator positions as well as local elections for county seats.
Information about the presidential election is readily available through nationally televised debates, social media and candidate websites. It may take a little more effort to be well versed in state issues, but they have a direct impact on your life.
The Idaho Secretary of State website has information on proposed constitutional amendments and initiatives, and a 2012 voters’ pamphlet that includes arguments for and against each issue on the ballot. After you watch the presidential debate tonight, take a few minutes to read about each resolution and proposition so you understand what’s going on at the state and national level.
National presidential campaigns may be more glamorous, but in order to be successful, democracy must start at the most basic level. It’s important to vote, especially in a society that accuses our generation of being apathetic. If we truly want to have an impact on our country, we have to care about the futures of our communities and states too.
Every vote matters, and so does every election.
— EE