As a native of Ohio who now resides in Virginia, my perspective on voting is as someone who has always lived somewhere that has been the focus of national campaigns looking to assemble “swing state” votes every four years. It is not difficult to appreciate the importance of voting when you know that a few dozen votes can change the outcome of your precinct, which can help swing your state that can move an election and affect the future of the entire country.
But it is also important to remember that the presidency is not the sum total of our democratic system. The outcome of this election will affect your life in a thousand ways you may not even notice, and that have nothing to do with who is elected president. It’s the 435 seats in U.S. House of Representatives and 34 in the Senate that will determine the direction of the next Congress that will have a significant impact on the future of CTE funding and the likely reauthorization of the Perkins Act. It’s the 12 states that will select a governor who will then be responsible for setting their statewide education policy agenda and establishing annual budgets that provide the majority of the classroom resources that CTE programs need to function. It’s the direct democracy of ballot measures that will determine if California can raise $9 billion through state bonds to fund repairs and upgrades to K-12 schools and community colleges, or if Oregon will have dedicated funding for dropout prevention and career and college readiness programs. It’s the local races and ballot issues that too numerous to mention here, but that have the most direct impact on your community.
Since 2012, we have brought you the Election Watch project not only as a means to encourage CTE advocates to help further our policy goals at the ballot box, but also to demonstrate to the entire CTE community that, no matter where you live, we all have the ability to affect change on Election Day and we all have the responsibility to be informed and engaged voters.
ACTE is a nonpartisan organization that does not support or oppose any candidate for public office.
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