by Pearlie Best
Educating voters continues to be a challenge but there’s hope for voters who seek to educate themselves and vote responsibly.
Reading the voting ballot for many Americans can feel daunting, and the only box that is checked in confidence involves selecting the next president. U.S. senators, house of representatives, public service commission or district county clerk etc. can be foreign terms. So where can an ill-informed voter go to gather information to become an informed voter?
The League of Women Voters is a great start. A non-partisan league with branches across the nation, including in the Omaha metro, is dedicated to presenting the facts and letting voters make up their own mind.
Citizens should be aware that for the past 20 years their organization has published a voters’ guide in an effort to assist those voters that may be overwhelmed when obtaining information to understand candidates and issues on the ballot, said MaryLee Moulton, communication director for the League of Women Voters Greater Omaha.
“We meet as a group and come up with a series of questions and then we submit the to all of the candidates that are running for public office,” Moulton said..
The 40-page guide has become accessible online via the league’s website vote411.org. Voters can input requested information and receive a personalized sample ballot for the candidates in their area. This year’s information can be accessed in the El Perico, The Reader, The Omaha Star, local election commission offices and libraries.
The purpose surrounding the voters’ guide is to not only get the answers from candidates into an organized platform for citizens to access but includes information at the national state but most importantly at the local level. For people who do not follow politics closely, they can be overwhelmed by the ballot. For most voters, understanding that ballot beyond the state governor presents a challenge and crucial voter potential is lost.
Moulton said a good majority of people don’t know what to make of the ballot, and have no idea what a state legislator or Omaha Public Power person does.
In addition to the question and answer process, the league interviews candidates. This year interviews consisted of candidates for legislators, Omaha Public School board, county board, public service commission and Metropolitan Community College. The guide also provides information regarding specific issues at the local level such as Initiative Measure 428 – that limits the interest rate of payday loans.
Beyond the voters’ guide, voters can educate themselves in other ways.
Visiting candidate’s campaign websites and checking out The Omaha World-Herald can be a helpful resource when researching.
Voters can find information from campaign websites but they need to be aware of the inherent bias. In an effort to minimize bias, voters should make themselves open to obtaining information from multiple sources and avoid just voting along party lines.
Viewing the local news and newspaper is key to gaining an informed perspective for issues that can affect the voter personally, said Dr. Whitney Gent, an assistant professor in the School of Communication at the University of Nebraska at Omaha,.
“It’s key to not just find out who’s running and not just vote across party lines,” Gent said. “It would be easy to vote for a candidate you don’t have all the information for if all you did was vote across party lines..”
Understanding and respecting both sides of party issues and stances is the first step when voting responsibly. When seeking out information, try looking for resources that have a nonpartisan viewpoint such as those like The League of Women Voters and Vote411.org. Informed decisions are the best decisions.
A more informed electorate should begin at the K-12 school level. Currently, in the Omaha metro, most schools require American Government for graduation but more could be done, Gent said.
Elections rely on turn-out. Instilling a sense of importance for issues in first-time voters and future voters is key to bring about change.
“I think that one of the things that could improve student interest in government classes is to help them understand the ways in which, especially local politics, impact their day to day lives,” Gent said.
For most students, learning about the three branches of government, number of house representatives or first line of the Declaration of Independence may be the extent of their education. While all these government topics are beneficial to be aware of, future voters need to be aware of the complexities that construct our system.
“Our system with its separation of powers and checks and balances is more complex than most,” said Dr. Randall Adkins, UNO Arts and Sciences associate dean and political science professor. “It takes some study to understand how government works at the federal, state and local levels.”
