The next step in our journey: researching and choosing candidates to support. Research is your best friend right now as we prepare to head to the polls. This can come in many forms such as internet research, discussion with others in your life, checking out local political events and watching national debates. We have laid out a research guide just for our voters: How To Research A Candidate. Check it out below!
🗳️ CANDIDATES
Firstly, it is important to know who is running for each position and what each position’s responsibilities are. Don’t forget about your local candidates! Knowing who you want to vote for in the presidential election is important but a lot of change can be made locally as well. MVP has put together a full list of each position up for office! Read the full list here: https://www.myvotingpower.org/post/2024-voter-toolkit-i-m-freaking-out-how-do-i-start
🗳️ PARTY RESOURCES
After identifying the candidates, their responsibilities, and their parties, the next step is to get baseline information.
For our presidential candidates, you can head over to the GOP & DNC websites. Each party’s website will show you information about the national party priorities and presidential candidates. You can also see party issues, stances, and resources.
Visit the National Party websites to read more:
GOP: https://gop.com/ DNC: https://democrats.org/
For our local candidates, the first stop is the DTC and RTC websites. Each party’s website has a full list of their slate of candidates as well as short bios for each candidate. This gives you some general information about their past positions, history in town, and the position they are running for.
Visit the Town Committee websites to read more:
🗳️ CANDIDATE WEBSITES
For our presidential candidates, you will find a lot of information about them online. Oftentimes, so much information that it feels overwhelming. To get a general understanding of their policies and main issues, take a look at their official candidate websites.
Many local candidates also have their own websites with more information about their policies, stances, and personal history. Not all candidates have their own website, but a quick Google search will bring up their site if they do. Oftentimes, they even have a page dedicated to their stances on different common issues in town. You can get a great feel for a candidates’ priorities and values from how they present themselves on their own website.
🗳️ GOOGLE SEARCH
One route we like to take when researching candidates is to do a simple search of their name and see what news articles pop up. This is most effective for incumbent candidates, to see how they performed in their last term. You can even search candidates within publication websites. This will help you understand public perception and maybe get some information that the candidates don’t want to disclose themselves.
Note: Just make sure you are reading reputable resources!
🗳️SOCIAL MEDIA
Social Media can be a great way to gain a good understanding of a candidate's policy and vision for the town. A much more casual platform, candidates repost articles, write more organic content, and share photos and videos from their campaigns. This can be a great way to see what issues a candidate does or does not support, how they interact with their potential constituents, and give you a more personal look into their campaign.
🗳️ EVENTS
Leading up to the election, our presidential candidates will have several presidential debates. When announced, you can find more information about these upcoming debates on the party websites listed above.
Organizations all over town are hosting local events this election season to help you get to know the candidates. The League of Women Voters and Round Hill Association are both hosting a series of events and informational sessions in anticipation of the election. This is another great way to have a chance to make your voice heard in front of those running for election. Visit their websites to learn more.
What’s Next On Our Journey?
Check out a little preview of where we will be going together before election day to make sure you have all the information you need before getting to the polls.
005: How Do I Research A Candidate?
006: How Do I Engage With My Community During Election Season?
007: Guide To Greenwich Voting
008: Elected Perspective: Interview Series Pt. 1
009: Elected Perspective: Interview Series Pt. 2
010: The Final Countdown: What Do We Need To Do To Prepare for Election Day?
011: Election Recap
Bình luận