It's almost that time again. Our televisions, mailboxes, radio dials, and voice mails are being flooded with campaign messages, all trying to get us to vote for a particular candidate. According to the U.S. Census, from 2000 to 2004, there was an increase of 12.5 million registered voters in the United States. Why? Are people becoming more concerned about key issues? Maybe. Are we getting more interesting candidates? Yes. For whatever reason, we are taking more of an interest in who we put into office. But are voters really educated on their candidates? I would say no.
Youtube is full of videos claiming Barack Obama is a terrorist who plots against America. The same site has hundreds of compilations of videos of John McCain struggling through speeches with the help of aids standing behind him. However, there are also sites such as www.smartvoter.org and www.vote-smart.org who have launched their own campaigns against ignorant voting. Sure 12.5 million more voters is great, but if those people are voting on an image or an impulse, do you feel confident about their decisions? These sites and others tell potential voters how and when to register to vote, issues and candidates' positions, and how to tell the phony information from what is really happening. These lists could help the increasing numbers of voters, vote smarter.
Instead of being informed by sensational forwarded emails or Youtube videos, voters should heed these educational websites and become informed on what really matters in their candidate of choice. They may even use these to decide who IS their candidate of choice. If you know a new voter, a potential voter, or someone who just doesn't get the whole educated voter thing, encourage them to research and know what their opinion is.