Where's Your Head At?

With all the party (political, that is) spin and the rhetoric and the retorts and the attempts to seduce you, the VoterVirgins, it can be pretty hard to feel sure about your choices and easy to wonder if you are informed enough to practice safe voting.

As Basement Jaxx would say:

Where's your head at?
Where's your head at?
Where's your head at?

You have found yourself
Trapped in this
Incomprehensible maze
Where's your head at?
Where's your head at?

Don't make it easy on yourself
Where's your head at?
Got to get
Got to get
Got to get
Got to get

Where's your head at?


Since the number two excuse for not voting is "I did not know enough to make an informed choice" let's be sure you have resources to answer your questions and make safe choices in November.

VoterVirgin wants to be sure you feel safe enough and informed enough to cast your ballot with confidence. Knowing who you are doing 'it' with is essential to practicing safe voting. Sure, sometimes we discover that we have been misled and lied to. Sometimes a candidate close to our hearts will lose. Knowing that you took the time to choose as wisely as possible will help you deal with the potential ramifications later. Hindsight may be 20/20, but a good hard look before hand can put the issues in focus and help prevent a politically transmitted dis-ease later on.

You might want to explore the issues before you choose a candidate that deserves your first vote. What do you think? Well, that's up to you. If you really want to spend some time exploring issues and opinions, check out Public Agenda when you have some time. This is a fiercely non-partisan resource that let's you choose from a menu of beliefs and then illustrates arguments for and against your choices so you can stand by your choices armed with information.

Most state and local candidate voter's guides will not be published until closer to the election, but politics1 has the most extensive list of presidential candidates and state by state hopefuls I have seen so far this year. Really a non-partisan site, the ads are a bit left leaning, but ignore them and check out groups like the "Personal Choice" party with the gun store owning ex-porn star running for VP. VoterVirgin will be running links to other voter guides in the next 90 days. Who could have imagined that more than two people are running for President this year?

You can always choose to vote "straight party ticket", but please read the party platform if you are going this route. Loyalty is a worthy attribute, but not knowing the agenda of your party is like giving your virtuous vote to someone you barely know. The Democrats, the Green Party, and the Libertarians have already adopted their official platform. The Republicans will formalize the platform at their convention later this month, but you can peek at their agenda now.

Lastly, consider inviting some of your closest friends and trusted adults to talk about who you are going to vote for. Particularly in local elections, they may be able to provide you with inside information that could be valuable as you make these important decisions. Sharing and having a support network will help get you (and your friends) to the polls. Nobody should have to vote the first time without the love and support of their community.

Next post: Vote Like A Rock Star: the ins and outs of absentee voting