The midterm elections are coming up on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 和 although they may not get as much hype as presidential elections, 他们仍然很重要, 约书亚说. Weikert, Ph值.D.，副教授 政治科学 和 chair of Immaculata大学’s Civic Engagement Dep艺术ment. Weikert has wide-ranging academic experience 和 practical involvement in politics, 公共政策和治理, having served as a research consultant, policy analyst 和 legislative advisor.
In recent years, Weikert has seen a trend of more young people 投票. 传统上, voter turnout tends to be higher among older adults, Weikert说, which is why politicians often talk about issues that matter to that population, 比如医疗保险和社会保障. 但最近, he has noticed that younger voters—including college students—are increasingly recognizing that politicians will pay attention to issues they care about if they vote.
“投票是一种习惯,维克特说, 和 encourages students to vote in the next several elections to build good lifelong habits. He shares five tips to help voters choose c和idates 和 make their voices heard on election day.
1. 制定投票计划.
Voters should make sure they are registered to vote in each election. 宾夕法尼亚州的居民可以 在这里查看他们的选民登记.
An area may have plenty of polling locations, but “you can’t vote just anywhere,维克特说. Everyone must vote only at their designated polling place (or by mail, if they requested a mail-in or absentee ballot by Nov. 1). 宾夕法尼亚州的选民可以 在这里查找他们的投票地点 找出该去哪里. Other states also offer voter information online, usually on their dep艺术ment of state or board of elections websites. They can then find out the hours of their polling place on election day 和 pick a time to go 和 cast their ballots.
2. 你对候选人做过调查吗.
“Be a responsible citizen, put in the work, even for a few hours,维克特说. 他建议参观 Vote411.org 和 VoteSm艺术.org, nonp艺术isan websites that compile c和idates’ answers to questions about important issues 和 that show the 投票 records of incumbent c和idates.
Weikert also recommends reading c和idates’ platforms. “If they don’t have much to say, they’re probably a bad c和idate.” He cautions against believing everything opponents 和 third p艺术ies say about c和idates. “Always be asking questions [like] why 和 according to whom?”
3. 咨询新闻来源.
The three major TV networks provide 30-minute news segments at 6:30 p.m. with little opinion/editorial content, Weikert说. He also points to publicly funded news outlets—NPR or PBS—as reliable sources with sound, 基于事实的新闻.
“Go to a reputable news source with a stake in things,” Weikert advises. “Large media companies have a lot to lose if they’re wrong.” He mentions The New York Times, Washington Post 和 similar major newspapers.
However, he adds, the top 艺术icles on those news websites could all be opinion/editorial pieces. “Take editorial 和 analysis content with a grain of salt,” he cautions. Most major news outlets clearly label 艺术icles as news, analysis or opinion to help readers distinguish between them 和 be aware of commentators’ biases.
“There are thous和s of media outlets that will mislead you,维克特说. With the internet, “overall media content has grown, 和 it’s mostly editorial content.”
He also encourages people to avoid cable news, which 他说 is mostly editorial content, 和 to beware of political information they see on social networks. “If you see it flying around on social media, there’s a good chance it’s misleading in some way,维克特警告说.
4. Read widely to check facts 和 assumptions.
维克特提到了确认偏误, people’s tendency to seek out information that confirms their opinions 和 to disregard facts that challenge their beliefs. “We skip over 艺术icles we don’t agree with,他指出, 和 points out that large news sites have algorithms that note readers’ preferences 和 show them 艺术icles that interest them.
“This creates the false impression that everyone already agrees with us,” he comments. “Go out of your way to read things that disagree with your presuppositions.”
5. 就投票!
It sometimes feels like a single vote doesn’t make much difference, Weikert承认, 但是投票很重要. “The higher the rates of voter turnout, the more public policy matches public opinion.” Voting sends a message to elected officials that they will be held accountable, 他说, 和 they can’t get away with doing anything they want.
If politicians think voters aren’t paying attention, Weikert笔记, they may be more likely to be swayed by other interests, such as big donors or their p艺术y’s politics. “Politicians will go with what the voters want every single time if they know voters are going to show up.”