From Brackets to Ballots: How You Can Win for Your Community

March Madness has officially begun, but so has voting season! In North Carolina, the primary took place on March 3, and I worked as an election official in a nonpartisan capacity at a precinct in Union County. This was a great way to immerse myself in the election process and get paid! Some of you are probably asking, "What is a primary election?", and "Do they even matter?" A primary election is what political parties use to select candidates for a general election. Then each party's candidates run against each other in the general election.

Visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program for more information!

While voting is never required, it is always encouraged because this is how you have an impact on your community. Your utilities, property taxes, public safety, public education, local parks and libraries, sanitation services, and more are decided by local government, not the president. While yes, presidential elections are important, if your light bill rises and you're no longer able to afford it, there's very little those in the White House can do.

Rules of the Game

• Register to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), visit your local Board of Election, or complete the application online (NC DMV Voter Registration)
• Check your registration! (NC Voter Search or https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)
• Research your candidates (you can view your sample ballot on NC Voter Search, then use campaign websites, news articles, records from press conferences, social media, and Ballotpedia to decide who best aligns with your views)
• Make the game-winning shot: GO VOTE and take a friend!

This year, in November, nationwide, we will be voting for:

• All 435 House of Representatives
• 35 U.S. Senators
• 36 governors
• 19,000+ city council members
• 18,000+ school board members
• 6,000+ state legislators
• 3,000+ mayors and city executives
• 1,000+ judges, AND MORE!

So whether you're a Democrat, Republican, Socialist, Libertarian, a part of the Green Party, or build your March Madness bracket based on how cute the starting five is (like I did), or how cool the logo is. Voting is so important.

Yours truly, Parliamentarian Nyla White