Although mid-terms won’t happen until November, it is not too early to start looking at candidates and it is important for students to not forget about the local candidates on the ballot.
Most voters go out to the ballot box with a rough idea of which party they’re going to vote for, or what specific candidate they support.
With national politics getting more and more contentious it is important to know how you are affected when those same ideals make it to your city council and county board of supervisors. Seats like governor, mayor and state representative matter just as much and maybe even a little more than those big-name politicians in the national elections.
State seats have power over state laws about drugs, murder and other violent crimes as well as control over how much state, local and property tax that you pay each year. They also are in charge of services like police departments and schools – they control everything from the curriculum that they teach in the classroom to if police officers are required to wear body cams.
Local seats like city and county seats are in charge of utilities or utility regulation and are even responsible for local roads.
Most importantly, local representatives are tasked with infrastructure. Filling potholes to fixing bridges, even plowing roads and highways, are left to local dollars which local representative’s control. They can choose whether they fund the police more, or if they want to fix the infrastructure, to even providing local resources like mental health care and disability services.
So, if you want your tax dollars going to the right place make sure that you start researching now and remember to vote this November. It is not too early to start looking at candidates.
Not only is it important to vote for your local politicians it’s important to vote in general. Voting has been a part of the American duty since the constitution was ratified in 1788. To register to vote visit sos.iowa.gov.
Categories: Opinion, Staff Editorials
