VOTING PARTIES 
join the movement 

I called to talk to many friends around the mid-term elections in 2018 to pick their brains about some of the items on the ballot that I wasn't sure about. It takes a lot of time and research to get familiar with all of the candidates and propositions, and to many that's an item on the to-do list that doesn't make the cut. Voting requires a bit of homework and dedication. We all have friends who are fully versed in what's going on in politics, but for those who are too busy worrying about their kids, their jobs, or any other number of things, getting informed just doesn't happen. What I found during the mid-terms was that many of my friends said "I don't vote - I don't have time to learn about all that."

Those same friends had strong opinions about the current political climate and the need for some - let's just say adjustments. 

That made me think. What could we incorporate into our culture that would help make it easier to get informed without cutting into time needed to do laundry, help kids with homework, or other seemingly more necessary and urgent to-do list items? 

I thought of something.

VOTING PARTIES - Let's make it fun.

We make time for Superbowl parties and Oscar parties, so why not have Voting parties?  Why not invite friends to come together and discuss the ballot a couple of weeks before  we are to vote? Add food and drinks to any occasion and you can make something that usually feels like homework into something fun. 

HOW WOULD THAT WORK?

We decide that voting is needed.  That's the first thing. Then we distribute the items on the ballot so that no one HAS TO research everything on it, but is only asked to get informed about a few things. That makes it more do-able. Call it baby steps for first time voters or for those that don't make it a priority to vote every time. 


Then at the voting party, we share our findings - a potluck of ideas. Simply informing each other in a fair and balanced way. Share what the left thinks and share what the right thinks. Both.  This may be hard for some, but the idea isn't to debate. In fact, debating is sort of forbidden - that could lead us into dangerous turf. The goal is to educate on what's on the ballot and then have everyone be left with  a couple of weeks to further investigate on their own before it's time to vote. Knowledge about the ballot will lead to voting that may otherwise not have happened. 


I believe if it were something cultural that we do all the time, it would really help get the participation that we need to be a true democracy.  It's an idea. If you like it, do it. Join the movement.