tl;dr!? Be an informed voter — ActiVote (web site or application) & Ballotpedia (website).

General Election is Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Your superpower is your vote and your pen is mightier.

Use it on a ballot!

The stew we swim in for this General Election STILL includes COVID coming at us with new variants — wear a mask, be kind, get vaccinated, and vote absentee if possible.

And the duplicitous stare decisis GOP has thrown women’s rights under the bus. I enjoyed the protection of Roe throughout my reproductive years. In my lifetime, I have only known what it is like to have agency over my own body. That this protection is gone leaves me stone cold. This is a war on women and our access to healthcare.

Write your plan to vote.

Write a contingency plan.

Mark your calendar and make your plan happen!

Make a Plan & Make It Happen!

If you need assistance with the voting process, the websites ‘I will vote’ and ‘Vote 411’ navigate to state-specific sites. Both sites have a voter hotline for questions. And ‘I will vote’ has a front page link for those voting abroad (‘Voting While Living Abroad’).

I will vote.

Hotline: 833.336.8683

Democratic National Committee

Vote 411 Org

Hotline: 866.687.8683

League of Women Voters

Educational Voter Resources

ActiVote, Plot Your Politics

Active Voter. Activated Voter. I tripped across this app on a recommendation from someone on a Facebook group. A feature and information-rich application that as Viva Doe Citizen allows me to see where I line up on issues with politicians that represent me or don’t and I’m looking at Senator Ron Johnson. He sure doesn’t represent me.

And ActiVote shows a range of legislative responses to current issues. For instance, here is the relatively benign ‘residential speed limit’ question:

Screen shot: ActiVote driving through the neighborhood

From ActiVote, the goals of the application/website are:

  • Make civics a habit
  • Help you get to the polls
  • Help you assess candidates for political office
  • Amplify your voice (polling)
  • Education resource for policy
  • Track elected officials and legislation

ActiVote does collect lots of data! Data they provide others is aggregated. You will not be personally identifiable. I had a back-and-forth on the data privacy of ActiVote on Facebook. The upshot: their Privacy Policy is easily accessible and readable in a way that Facebook’s is not. I believe the founders have the best intentions in a way that Mark Zuckerberg does not or never will.

Also, Target has enough data on me and Mr. Viva that paper towels will be ready for pick-up tomorrow.

Ballotpedia

From the ABOUT page (pulled Tuesday, 10.25.2022):

“Ballotpedia is the digital encyclopedia of American politics, and the nation’s premier resource for unbiased information on elections, politics and policy.
We provide our readers curated content on all levels of U.S. politics that is relevant, reliable, and available for all. We are firmly committed to neutrality in all our content.”

Viva voted!

Now to be counted. November 8, 2022, is coming!

Wear a mask.

Maintain physical distance.

Be kind.

Exercise your superpower and vote! You count.