Thursday, September 8, 2016

Voting




I know this election is very derisive and I am not about to talk politics but I am going to stress how important it is that you exercise your right to vote. Sadly only about 50% of eligible voters actually vote.  I have heard many people say they hate both candidates so much they will not vote.  Not voting does not solve any problems and doesn't allow you to throw up your hands and say you are not responsible because you still are.

 

What got me thinking about voting was a story I heard on NPR.  I am not going to mention the name of the foundation because I believe that their whole platform is misguided and not founded in facts.

The person being interviewed stated that his foundation needed to exist because America is one of only a few countries that votes on a weekday and that we should vote on the weekend. But this was not what he was advocating for. No, his foundation wants companies to give employees the whole day off to vote.

I heard this and thought that he started with a strong case, many countries vote on the weekend, and then abandoned that for the argument that businesses must give employees the whole day off to vote. That seemed ludicrous to me. It doesn't take a whole day to vote and the polls are open before and after work. Not to mention that many states allow time off to vote without retaliation from your employer and in some states that time can be taken with pay.

I was discussing this with my husband and said I couldn't understand why this person is pushing for something that is covered by laws in so many states. I was shocked when my husband said he was completely unaware that we lived in a state that allows paid time off to vote and that there were such laws in place.

Since voting is so important, and it seems that people may not be aware of their voting rights I wanted to take a moment to share information about your right to vote, depending on where you live.
Voting laws by state

I hope that everyone who can will exercise their right to vote.

Happy Writing!
Kat

In case you were interested in the arguments for switching our voting from a weekday to a weekend here is some information for you.

Voting




I know this election is very derisive and I am not about to talk politics but I am going to stress how important it is that you exercise your right to vote. Sadly only about 50% of eligible voters actually vote.  I have heard many people say they hate both candidates so much they will not vote.  Not voting does not solve any problems and doesn't allow you to throw up your hands and say you are not responsible because you still are.

 

What got me thinking about voting was a story I heard on NPR.  I am not going to mention the name of the foundation because I believe that their whole platform is misguided and not founded in facts.

The person being interviewed stated that his foundation needed to exist because America is one of only a few countries that votes on a weekday and that we should vote on the weekend. But this was not what he was advocating for. No, his foundation wants companies to give employees the whole day off to vote.

I heard this and thought that he started with a strong case, many countries vote on the weekend, and then abandoned that for the argument that businesses must give employees the whole day off to vote. That seemed ludicrous to me. It doesn't take a whole day to vote and the polls are open before and after work. Not to mention that many states allow time off to vote without retaliation from your employer and in some states that time can be taken with pay.

I was discussing this with my husband and said I couldn't understand why this person is pushing for something that is covered by laws in so many states. I was shocked when my husband said he was completely unaware that we lived in a state that allows paid time off to vote and that there were such laws in place.

Since voting is so important, and it seems that people may not be aware of their voting rights I wanted to take a moment to share information about your right to vote, depending on where you live.
Voting laws by state

I hope that everyone who can will exercise their right to vote.

Happy Writing!
Kat

In case you were interested in the arguments for switching our voting from a weekday to a weekend here is some information for you.