"Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of democracy. Elections give citizens a voice in their government in the most fundamental way: by deciding who governs.
Elections help ensure that power passes in a peaceful, orderly manner from citizens to their elected representatives—and from one elected official to his or her successor.
The American system can appear complicated, but it ensures that voters have a voice at all levels of government.
The U.S. Constitution gives certain powers to the national (or “federal”) government and reserves others for the individual states and the people. The Constitution requires that each state have a republican form of government, in which people exercise their power through elected representatives, and it forbids states from violating certain specified rights, but states otherwise retain considerable power."
When it doubt, head to Vote.org to flex your voting muscles! Pledge to register, do that, and then check to make sure you're active! You can also fill out the 2020 Census while you're there. Win-Win!
Some government websites will not allow you to access them from outside of the country. When looking up info for states like Arkansas and Idaho, try using a proxy server to gain access!
Informed voting takes research! But it's worth the reward. We're here to help you find those resources.
Some states do a great job advocating both sides of the issues being put on the ballot. Arizona for example publishes a multitude of "For" and "Against" letters in their voter guide pamphlets. California has the Easy Voter Guide in multiple languages for "new and busy voters," or the League of Women Voters who break down the proposal, it's "fiscal effects," and what Supporters and Opponents have to say about it.
If you're still on the fence, seek out some non-partisan resources such as BallotPedia or the League of Women Voters who create lists of pros/cons as well as tell you who backed the original proposition. Have you read the text of the proposition? There will definitely be more information there to clue you in on the issue's intent.
While US Territories can not currently vote in the Presidential Elections, their territorial ballots still vote on territory specific issues and local political seats.
BallotPedia is a great way to become a more informed voter! With their Sample Ballot Lookup system, you can see all the federal, state, and local issues that will be on your absentee ballot when it arrives. This allows you do your research ahead of time and have a quick turnaround from receiving your absentee ballot to sending it back, ensuring it arrives on time to be counted.