Despite my job being in political research, I think I find figuring out who and what I support on the ballot just as tough as the next guy. That gets even worse when it comes to my upcoming municipal primary. Sure, a large part of the ballot is running unopposed, but I'm not going to tick a box just because someone's the only person running from my party.
Even in the more contested races, it can be next to impossible to find credible information that can help you decide. In the end, most voters have to vote uninformed in these elections no matter how hard they try. Having to rely political advertisements or auto-biography pieces on campaign websites is no way to make an informed citizen choice.
Until public money starts to pull its weight, voter information will continue to suffer, and not just in these local elections. We need better public education about our political systems and how to making voting choices. We need publicly funded, apolitical voter pamphlets to make information accessible and unbiased. If we cannot get more informed voters into the ballot boxes, how can we hope to lessen the sway of private money on our government?
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