How to Vote as a Self-Advocate

Posted on March 3, 2025

This is going to be one of the hardest blogs to date that I will attempt to write. It is about becoming a full-fledged United States citizen and the right to vote in this country’s elections, whether it be local, state, or presidential election. It is every citizen’s duty to vote. This is the way you can use your voice in a matter of speaking. Each election cycle, you can make a change for the better if things in the United States are not to your liking. To vote, you must decide for yourself which party you want to be affiliated with, whether it be Democrat, Republican, independent, or other, this is your decision alone. Once you have decided as to what party you want to join, and if you are 18, you will be able to start using your voice in elections. To vote, you must fill out a voter registration form that you can get online or at places, such as your local library or courthouse. You must fill out the form as best you can, or you can have a family member help you fill out the form. Once that is done, you must mail it out to the proper office. From there, it will take a couple of weeks to get a response, which will be in the form of a letterhead telling you that you are now a citizen with voting privileges plus a voting ID card with all pertinent info about you. When you go to vote for the first time, you will need to know which county/location you are registered at to make sure you vote at the correct place.

Now you have to pay attention to what is going on in the big world of politics, whether it is local, state, country, or around the world. Anything that happens in your county/town, state, or all of America is important to pay attention to. Some issues stay in your local town/school board, such as unions for your town garbage collectors. It is important to know what is going on, how issues travel, and how your local officials deal with these issues. The state government deals with statewide issues such as things like housing, disability, autism, road construction, gas prices: natural or automobile gas, and a thousand of other issues that need to be dealt with. State representatives are the people elected to deal with these issues. If you have problems with government issues or need to advocate for yourself, you should contact your state and local representatives by visiting them in person, emailing them, or calling their offices. If the problem you are having is not solved the first go around, keep advocating for it, and eventually they will get tired of you contacting them, and they will finally try to help solve the problem or contact you further. In statewide elections, not only do you have to vote for your county representatives but you may also have to vote for your district attorneys and/or judges. It is important to keep track of each one of these offices that I have spoken about and how they are serving the public’s best interests.

Next is the highest level of representation, which is the federal government. This includes our Congressmen and Congresswomen who are elected by voters in each state, whether it be for the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the President of the United States every four years. The Senators and the Congress people in the House of Representatives deal with hundreds of pieces of legislation every day, from taxes, to the budget of the United States, and space, the final frontier. Each piece of legislation goes through a process before it becomes law. When the legislation is debated on by each member in different committees, with compromises hopefully agreed on by these committees. Once a bill makes its way to the Senate, they debate the merits of this bill and vote on it. If it is passed by a majority in the Senate, it will eventually make its way to the President to be signed into a law. So, as a voter, you must be aware of what bills are in what part of government. You should also pay attention to your elected officials and know how they vote/ what issues they care about, so you are prepared when it comes to voting if they are up for re-election. If you do not like what they are doing, by voting in each election cycle, you can vote out people who are not representing your best interest and contribute to their replacement. As the saying goes, the pen is mightier than the sword, so make sure you meet your civic duty and vote as a self-advocate.