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It’s Your Vote, So Why Don’t You Vote Smart
2010 is a big year for Michigan. The Center for Michigan refers to this year as the end of “Michigan’s Defining Moment.” This is primarily because Michigan will have a huge influx of new elected officials this general election in November. The Governor’s seat is up for grabs and promising to be highly competitive, featuring two Democratic and five Republican candidates. Also open are the State Attorney General, Secretary of State, the Michigan Supreme Court Justice and three U.S. House seats. The State House of Representatives will have 52 vacant seats, about half of their chamber, and the State Senate will lose 30 of 38 senators. You don’t have to be a math whiz to notice that’s a ton of openings. Our state’s uncertain future political leadership may seem alarming, but we can also view this pivotal moment as an opportunity, and you should too. It’s an opportunity for all citizens to make educated and informed decisions about who they are electing to office - a chance to get involved and forge a relationship with their political representatives.
Many of the changes that need to take place in Michigan begin with creating new policies, which is why it is so important for citizens to participate and have a voice in our state’s future. Keeping tabs on all of the candidates running for some sort of office may seem like a daunting task, but there are tools to help with that. Visiting these three resources can practically replace reading daily newspapers or watching local news, although I’d encourage that anyway.
The first tool is MiVote.org. This website is a comprehensive guide to the Michigan 2010 elections. Use the MiVoter Guide on the site to find out who is running to represent your district, view candidate bios, links to their websites and contact information. The MiIssue guide will direct you to a thriving collection of videos from candidates and voters on the issues that are important to them. You can also air your grievances by uploading your own video to the site. This an excellent starting point to research candidates this year.
Your next step should be to visit VoteSmart.org. This is where you’d go to get the nitty gritty on the candidates’ voting records, issue positions, public statements and campaign finances. You can also find ratings of interest groups, monitor legislation and keep up with ballot proposals. The great thing about this resource is that it covers all 50 states and each state’s information is complete and up to date.
The last stop should be MichiganTruthSquad.com, a project of the Center for Michigan. Ever see a political ad and think to yourself “yeah, but is that really true?” The Michigan Truth Squad site will answer that question for you. The watchdog group consists of two seasoned political journalists who act as the “Truth Squad Referees.” The referees review and investigate claims of advertising campaign materials for any Gubernatorial, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State House and Senate candidates as well as ballot initiatives. Playing up the sports theme, the refs call foul on ads with misleading or false content or a “no foul” for ads that pass the journalists’ truth standards. The website operates from tips submitted by users (and rewards them with sweet prizes) so if you come across any suspect political ads this year, send them to the Michigan Truth Squad.
With so much on the line this year at this crucial point in our state’s history, it’s important to make informed voting decisions to usher in the most qualified leaders to help restore prosperity in Michigan.
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