Q&A #8: Voting: A How-To Guide
Q: Are you interested in politics and do you vote?
--Anonymous
A: Yes, and yes, but only recently.
As some of you probably know, I was born in Germany and only naturalized as a US citizen in the summer of '09; so I wasn't eligible to vote until not too long ago.
When I went in to vote for the first time, I was pretty overwhelmed by the whole deal. If you're going to vote, then the best way to learn it is probably to go through the whole procedure for the first time when you are eighteen years old, and go with your parents or with someone else who's done it before. But I had to do it alone, and it was pretty stressful. (Note that if you go with someone else, they can't actually walk up to the voting booth with you, because it has to be kept private. But they can help you do everything else, and they can explain how it's done beforehand.)
I'll put down what I've learned, and maybe it'll be helpful to somebody.
First of all, you've got to be registered. Problem is, voter registration is a different procedure for every state. Most of the time, it's relatively simple--fill out a form at your library or your post office, or print one out and mail it. About the only advice I can manage with that is to search on the Internet with your state or your county and "voter registration". You should find the relevant information. Look for sites ending in ".gov".
You've got to be registered quite a while ahead of time. Some places, it's only a few days; some places, a month; some places you can go in and do a provisional ballot (which means "we only count it once you're registered") but really--register ahead of time and you won't have that hassle.
You'll also need to find out where your particular district's polling place is. That's not too difficult--you can do an Internet search for it, and you might find it on the same site that you found to explain registration. Districts are pretty small, though. If you live in a big city, there'll be several; so make sure you have the right one. My registration card has my district on it, but I'm not sure if everybody's does. Lots of voting takes place in public buildings--schools, libraries, churches, that kind of thing; wherever there's extra space. Oh, and good news--it's illegal to badger people going in to vote one way or another, so you're not that likely to have anybody in your face.
As for the actual voting: Do your homework. Definitely, definitely do your homework. I bet this is why so many people just vote the party line--it's easier just to figure out whether you like Democrat or Republican more and go right down the line with one or the other. (But even that takes some homework to figure out which candidate belongs to which party.)
You'll probably find yourself voting on lots of stuff. Some things get thrown onto the ballot to be decided on by the public; so you'll be voting on those. Very occasionally there'll be something really history-making, but for the most part it's stuff like, "Should we spend money to build a new public school?" or, "Should we create a new food-safety committee?" The nice thing about this small-time stuff, though, is that your vote can actually make a difference. It's not like you're tossing your vote in the hat along with millions of other people. In local elections it might only be hundreds.
You can read the details of the proposals you're voting on ahead of time, and probably should. Local governments will have web pages.
The first time I went to vote I made a mistake: I didn't do enough research, and I didn't write down my decisions. So, because I'm bad with names, I forgot which candidate fit with which facts, and I had to abstain several times. (Yes, you can do that, and don't be afraid to if you have no clue what you're voting for or if you just can't make a choice.) I thought I was going to be okay with a couple of hours to sift through the facts; but that's just not going to work. You need a day, at least the first time. I haven't done this often enough to know whether it gets easier. I guess it does, because once all the incumbents are people you checked up on the last time you voted for them, you've only got half the research.
As for the research itself: Most candidates have web sites. You can also search news sites to see what the candidates have done in the past, and beyond the very smallest towns, there'll probably be a wikipedia article. None of these sources is perfectly reliable, of course, but the more sources you gather, the better you'll be able to figure out whether a candidate is competent at their job and whether they agree with what you think they should be doing. Obviously they'll be putting their best faces forward during their campaigns, so their history is a better indicator.
I really recommend you write down what you're going to vote for and take it in there with you. It was really annoying for me to stand there and realize I couldn't make head or tail of those names.
The voting itself is pretty simple. It's hard to find a place to park and you have to stand in line; honestly, I think I prefer not having a car now, because I never have to find a parking place--I can just walk right up to the door. You sign in--there'll be people there to take your name. You'll need to bring ID to prove you're who you say you are, of course; I was mailed a little voter-registration card when I registered, and I had a driver's license. The voting is usually done on computers--we had touch screens--and they are pretty straightforward to use; if you can use the Internet, you can use them. You get as much time as you want (unless the place is closing right then), and there are dividers so that nobody can look over your shoulder while you're putting in your votes. It's quiet for a public place, but not library-quiet. (That's another reason to write stuff down. Being in a public place, unfamiliar environment, you don't want to be deciding things while your brain's trying fizzle out on you.)
So, in short, if you're autistic and you're voting:
1. Register and know how to vote. Have someone teach you if you need it.
2. Do your research and write things down ahead of time.
3. Make sure you have everything--your ID and any registration info--before you go.
4. Vote, walk out, and de-stress somewhere.
My own political position is, as best I can tell, a hodgepodge that settles down somewhere around "moderate". I agree with some things from one side, some things from another side; for example, I'm strongly pro-life but would also vote for the legalization of marijuana. (Yes, really. Even though I've never even had a sip of wine, let alone illegal drugs, in my whole life.) Apparently, people think that political beliefs come in packages that shouldn't be divided--like, if you're pro-gun ownership then you can't possibly be okay with gay marriage, for example--even though those issues have little or nothing in common. I don't see the sense of that.
It's pretty complicated, though, when you can't just pick a politician by their political party, because odds are you won't ever agree completely with any given candidate. It's almost like we're picking the lesser evil--the person who's least likely to mess things up completely. Still, nobody's perfect, politicians least of all, so it's pretty unrealistic to expect your theoretical ideal candidate to actually appear on the ballot, isn't it?
Hey, at least we get to vote, right? It's a horrible system, but at least it's the best one that's ever been tried...
Q&As update Mondays and Fridays. Use the Q&A Submissions entry to submit your questions.
--Anonymous
A: Yes, and yes, but only recently.
As some of you probably know, I was born in Germany and only naturalized as a US citizen in the summer of '09; so I wasn't eligible to vote until not too long ago.
When I went in to vote for the first time, I was pretty overwhelmed by the whole deal. If you're going to vote, then the best way to learn it is probably to go through the whole procedure for the first time when you are eighteen years old, and go with your parents or with someone else who's done it before. But I had to do it alone, and it was pretty stressful. (Note that if you go with someone else, they can't actually walk up to the voting booth with you, because it has to be kept private. But they can help you do everything else, and they can explain how it's done beforehand.)
I'll put down what I've learned, and maybe it'll be helpful to somebody.
First of all, you've got to be registered. Problem is, voter registration is a different procedure for every state. Most of the time, it's relatively simple--fill out a form at your library or your post office, or print one out and mail it. About the only advice I can manage with that is to search on the Internet with your state or your county and "voter registration". You should find the relevant information. Look for sites ending in ".gov".
You've got to be registered quite a while ahead of time. Some places, it's only a few days; some places, a month; some places you can go in and do a provisional ballot (which means "we only count it once you're registered") but really--register ahead of time and you won't have that hassle.
You'll also need to find out where your particular district's polling place is. That's not too difficult--you can do an Internet search for it, and you might find it on the same site that you found to explain registration. Districts are pretty small, though. If you live in a big city, there'll be several; so make sure you have the right one. My registration card has my district on it, but I'm not sure if everybody's does. Lots of voting takes place in public buildings--schools, libraries, churches, that kind of thing; wherever there's extra space. Oh, and good news--it's illegal to badger people going in to vote one way or another, so you're not that likely to have anybody in your face.
As for the actual voting: Do your homework. Definitely, definitely do your homework. I bet this is why so many people just vote the party line--it's easier just to figure out whether you like Democrat or Republican more and go right down the line with one or the other. (But even that takes some homework to figure out which candidate belongs to which party.)
You'll probably find yourself voting on lots of stuff. Some things get thrown onto the ballot to be decided on by the public; so you'll be voting on those. Very occasionally there'll be something really history-making, but for the most part it's stuff like, "Should we spend money to build a new public school?" or, "Should we create a new food-safety committee?" The nice thing about this small-time stuff, though, is that your vote can actually make a difference. It's not like you're tossing your vote in the hat along with millions of other people. In local elections it might only be hundreds.
You can read the details of the proposals you're voting on ahead of time, and probably should. Local governments will have web pages.
The first time I went to vote I made a mistake: I didn't do enough research, and I didn't write down my decisions. So, because I'm bad with names, I forgot which candidate fit with which facts, and I had to abstain several times. (Yes, you can do that, and don't be afraid to if you have no clue what you're voting for or if you just can't make a choice.) I thought I was going to be okay with a couple of hours to sift through the facts; but that's just not going to work. You need a day, at least the first time. I haven't done this often enough to know whether it gets easier. I guess it does, because once all the incumbents are people you checked up on the last time you voted for them, you've only got half the research.
As for the research itself: Most candidates have web sites. You can also search news sites to see what the candidates have done in the past, and beyond the very smallest towns, there'll probably be a wikipedia article. None of these sources is perfectly reliable, of course, but the more sources you gather, the better you'll be able to figure out whether a candidate is competent at their job and whether they agree with what you think they should be doing. Obviously they'll be putting their best faces forward during their campaigns, so their history is a better indicator.
I really recommend you write down what you're going to vote for and take it in there with you. It was really annoying for me to stand there and realize I couldn't make head or tail of those names.
The voting itself is pretty simple. It's hard to find a place to park and you have to stand in line; honestly, I think I prefer not having a car now, because I never have to find a parking place--I can just walk right up to the door. You sign in--there'll be people there to take your name. You'll need to bring ID to prove you're who you say you are, of course; I was mailed a little voter-registration card when I registered, and I had a driver's license. The voting is usually done on computers--we had touch screens--and they are pretty straightforward to use; if you can use the Internet, you can use them. You get as much time as you want (unless the place is closing right then), and there are dividers so that nobody can look over your shoulder while you're putting in your votes. It's quiet for a public place, but not library-quiet. (That's another reason to write stuff down. Being in a public place, unfamiliar environment, you don't want to be deciding things while your brain's trying fizzle out on you.)
So, in short, if you're autistic and you're voting:
1. Register and know how to vote. Have someone teach you if you need it.
2. Do your research and write things down ahead of time.
3. Make sure you have everything--your ID and any registration info--before you go.
4. Vote, walk out, and de-stress somewhere.
My own political position is, as best I can tell, a hodgepodge that settles down somewhere around "moderate". I agree with some things from one side, some things from another side; for example, I'm strongly pro-life but would also vote for the legalization of marijuana. (Yes, really. Even though I've never even had a sip of wine, let alone illegal drugs, in my whole life.) Apparently, people think that political beliefs come in packages that shouldn't be divided--like, if you're pro-gun ownership then you can't possibly be okay with gay marriage, for example--even though those issues have little or nothing in common. I don't see the sense of that.
It's pretty complicated, though, when you can't just pick a politician by their political party, because odds are you won't ever agree completely with any given candidate. It's almost like we're picking the lesser evil--the person who's least likely to mess things up completely. Still, nobody's perfect, politicians least of all, so it's pretty unrealistic to expect your theoretical ideal candidate to actually appear on the ballot, isn't it?
Hey, at least we get to vote, right? It's a horrible system, but at least it's the best one that's ever been tried...
Q&As update Mondays and Fridays. Use the Q&A Submissions entry to submit your questions.