The saying "don't wait until the last minute" easily applies to early voting. Why? Simply because you never know what can happen on Election Day. You can get caught up at work, the baby sitter is not available, bad weather, you're too tired, you become sick, traffic -- any excuse in the book can cause you not make it to the polls. Taking advantage of early or advanced voting gives you breathing room and a sense of accomplishment. While everyone else is rushing to the polls during their lunch break, you can pat yourself for checking it off your to do list early.
Now, before you proudly go vote, I would suggest researching each candidate that will be on your ballot. I went to http://mvp.sos.state.ga.us/ to view all who would be on the ballot. The “My Voters Page” or MVP is a section on the website that caters to your voter information. Simply type in your information and your voter registration information will come up. Once that is open, you can click on “Sample Ballot” and you’ll be able to see all of the candidates who will be on the actual ballot. I researched each candidate’s background, their social media updates, and their platforms.
Yes, there is a little background research that takes place, but it will help you become more aware of each candidate. I used to be the "eeny-meeny-miny-mo" voter when I first started voting. I didn't know who to vote for -- so I randomly chose. If I recalled hearing a particular name or campaign sign, that's who I picked. That's a very immature way to vote, and our freedom fighters wouldn't be fond of that. I know I'm not the only one that has done that. Nevertheless, it’s not right, and we as voters need to be responsible for how and why we vote.
Early voting started on October 15th, and this is a great opportunity to start looking into each candidate and take advantage of early voting.
