Electing to Say “I Voted” in 2024

The countdown clock ticks, ticks, ticks towards the 2024 voting season!  The Primary Election is June 4th – only a month away!  The General Election is November 5th – only six months away!  From the youngest seventeen-year-old, who can register to vote now if he or she will be eighteen on or before November 5th, to the oldest resident, my hope is that after reading this column each eligible citizen will understand how and why to vote and at the end of the year be able to proudly say: “I Voted” in 2024!  

In three steps, here’s what you need to know:   

Step 1 - Understanding elections: The purpose of the Primary Election is for Democrats, Libertarians, and Republicans – the three parties legally recognized by the State of Iowa -- to vote on which candidates will represent their respective parties in the General Election.  To vote in the Primary, a voter must be registered as affiliating with one of the three legally recognized parties and will receive a ballot only for the candidates of this party.  The purpose of the General Election is to decide who will actually serve in office.  All registered voters, whether Democrat, Libertarian, Republican, No Party or Other party may vote in the General Election.

Step 2 - Registration: To register to vote, check or change voting status, and learn what candidates and issues will be on the ballot, contact the Greene County Auditor at 515/386-5680.  Your second step in electing to say “I Voted” in 2024 may well start with this simple phone call!  

Step 3 – Candidates, Issues and Voting: The third step is to get to know enough about the candidates and issues in order to cast an intelligent vote.  In local elections you may already know some of the candidates.  To learn more about the candidates and issues, you can attend candidate forums, check candidates’ websites, read on-line and print newspapers, listen to radio and television programs.  But, ultimately, you decide!

Knowing how to vote is a basic skill.  Knowing the candidates well enough to cast a carefully considered vote is essential and -- not going to lie -- time-consuming.  So, in my opinion, it is only understanding why voting matters that will get you to the polls so that you can proudly say, “I Voted” in 2024!  

So, why does voting matter?  Here are some answers by political thinkers from 2800 years ago to a television actress who stared in a recent sit-com and (in parentheses) my responses: 

“Someone struggled for your right to vote,” cajoled Susan B. Anthony. “Use it.”  (Hard to argue with this assertion.) 

“We do not have government by the majority,” explained Thomas Jefferson. “We have government by the majority who participate.”  (What can I say?  Register!  Get to know the candidates and issues! Vote!)

“Just because you do not take an interest in politics,” the Athenian philosopher, Pericles, argued over 2800 years ago, “does not mean that politics won’t take an interest in you.”  (Like it or not, you can’t avoid politics and the effects of political decisions.  The duty of the citizen is to register, get to know the candidates and issues, then vote.) 

Voting is an important opportunity for eligible citizens to take part in the on-going conversation of what it means for our county, state, and country to function as a democracy.  Participating in this conversation is a radical act of trust in our fellow citizens, scary as that may be.  As one of our most respected presidents, Abraham Lincoln taught, “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”  (Yes, elections were still held during the Civil War.)  

Voting is also a communal act we share with our fellow voters.  With this in mind, I give the last word to American actress, Beth Broderick, of Sabrina the Teenage Witch fame who beautifully explains:  

“I love voting day.  I love the sight of my fellow citizens lining up to make their voices heard.”  (Register!  Get to know the candidates and issues!  Then vote so we can all proudly say “We Voted” in 2024!)

Having lived in Jefferson since only December 2021, Bryan knows he will always be a newcomer in town. Though this may surprise his readers, he wants everyone to know that he truly delights in this role!