The importance of voting

The importance of voting: to get your voice heard.

Pick the issues that are most important to you and will affect you the most. If you don’t vote, then you can’t complain when the candidate gets in that you didn’t want.

There are three different ways you can vote in Iowa. You can go to your courthouse and vote early, call the auditor’s office to request a ballot sent to you or vote in person.

If you vote in person, all you need is your photo ID, providing that you voted in the last election.

If you have never voted before, you may register on Election Day, but you will need to bring your driver’s license or identification card and a bill such as phone, electricity bill to show your address.

After you have voted on Election Day, possibly after you leave the building, there may be a person asking how you voted. They are called exit pollsters.

Remember, when you vote, don’t wear your political shirt, cap or pin.

Voting gives you the power to create positive change and determine a better quality of life for you and your family.

How much your local schools get, will city and government repair the potholes on the road near your house, what will immigration law look like are some of the things you look at when voting.

Every vote counts, especially in the local level. Your decision could sway an election from someone who doesn’t have your best interest at heart to someone that does.

You can decide where your tax dollars are allocated on different projects that get local, state and federal funding. Voting and encouraging others to vote is one of the most effective ways to make politicians listen to your concerns.

We must protect our voting rights. If the politicians are voting for things that you do not approve of, you must try to vote them out of office.

Always vote for the elected officials that stand up for the values you believe in. Never doubt that your vote is powerful, but it must be exercised to remain so.

It has been mentioned that NRA members and evangelicals seem not to vote, but we need them more than ever to keep our country with our shared values and issues.