Traverse City Record-Eagle

Archive: Monday

November 3, 2008

Editorial: Make your voice heard

In one of the most significant elections in a generation, voters across America will go to the polls Tuesday to choose a new president, members of Congress and state legislators.

In dozens of states, including Michigan, important statewide ballot issues will be decided and a host of local officials, from sheriffs to county and township board members, will be chosen.

This is no time to sit it out. Get out and vote.

In Michigan, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Election officials from the Secretary of State's office to county and township clerks are predicting a possibly historic turnout, so voting could be slow in some areas.

And don't forget to vote the entire ballot. In Michigan, ballot issues and judicial and state board of education races are on the flip side of the ballot, so take the time to fill out a complete ballot.

After months of candidate speeches, TV and newspaper ads and millions of words in election stories, it is finally your turn. Make it count.

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For those still trying to make up their minds in key races or looking for a final bit of information, there are Web-based sources where voters can find information on where to vote, detailed candidate positions on a host of topics and rumor control.

-- The granddaddy of all voter information efforts is Project Vote Smart at www.votesmart.org. The site, created by a non-partisan, non-profit organization founded by some of the biggest names in American politics, is a compilation of responses from politicians at the federal and state levels on numerous topics.

Politicians are asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire stating their positions; politician ratings by a host of special-interest groups, from the American Humane Society to Americans for Tax Reform, are also included.

-- Factcheck.org. Wondering about that e-mail you got claiming John McCain isn't really an American citizen? Check out that and dozens of other claims, true and false, about the candidates at factcheck.org. The non-partisan site specializes in reviewing original documents and TV clips, speeches, voting records and other public sources to either confirm or put the lie to claims of all kinds.

-- Snopes.com. This site also specializes in debunking rumors, chain e-mails and other sources of election and non-election rumors.

-- GoVote.org helps voters prepare. Log on, type in your Zip code, and click on your city or township, and you'll find links to a wide variety of information, including polling sites and telephone numbers for local voting officials.

-- The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has created a toll-free hotline, (866)-OUR-VOTE, where voters having problems at the polls can get information from live call center operators. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund also has a toll-free hotline at (888)-Ve-Y-Vota.

-- For local, state and national issues, don't miss the Record-Eagle's Election section online, containing an indexed collection of our election coverage on local, state and national candidates, ballot issues, and more. See record-eage.com/election

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