Election Day is Tuesday, November 8, 2022. If you are not sure if you are registered to vote, there are numerous sites online to help you figure that out and to get registered if need be. If you will not be home on November 8 and you do not live in a state conducting elections by mail, figure out how to vote early or how to get an absentee ballot. Take care of business. The sooner the better.

Where I live elections are conducted mostly by mail. A few weeks before the election, the state sends a state ballot information book and the county does, too. Today I received my ballot. Voting by mail is awesome because in addition to consulting the information books, you can Google the people asking you for your vote and your tax dollars. They are literally asking you for your vote and for you to pay a portion of their salary. Should a judge be retained? No way I am automatically filling in “yes.” County sheriff? Four year term, not term limited. These people can do a lot of good or a lot of damage. Forget about their shiny mailers or the word “incumbent”– do a little research online before awarding them your vote.

We all have different definitions of assholes. But do your best not to elect an asshole–not for coroner, not for university trustee, not for county assessor, not for dog catcher. The world doesn’t need any more incompetent, shitty people holding office and being paid by tax dollars. And for god’s sake, figure out what the poorly worded, confusing ballot measures say and what the impact would be if enacted. Again, sitting at home I can look this up while I fill out my ballot. We have 11 state ballot measures this time and three local measures, each one worded more obliquely than the next. Leave it blank if you don’t want to figure out what it says.

I am here to tell you from personal experience that prosecutors, sheriffs and judges can do some serious and unwarranted damage to individuals and to society. So local elections are as important as the national elections. Choose wisely. You never know when your own life might be impacted by these “public servants.”

Make sure you are registered to vote.

Vote early if you can.

Starting right now, remind people in your life to register and to vote in this and every election, even if they think you are a pain in the ass.

Don’t be that person who doesn’t take care of business and then shrugs when the polls close on November 8 because you were “too busy” or because “it doesn’t matter.”

YOU AREN’T AND IT DOES.