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Here are the top 7 reasons why people don’t vote – and they’re really easy to fix!

The Eagle 105.5 and the Office of Lt. Governor Spencer Cox want to REV Up Utah!

That is, get Registered to vote, get Educated, and get Voting!

Utah is 39th is the nation for voter turnout and we can do better!

Here are the top reasons people give about why they don’t vote, and they all have super easy fixes!

1. I’m not registered to vote. / I don’t know how to register to vote.

Fix: Head to vote.utah.gov to get registered to vote online by October 30th! All you have to do is click “Register to Vote” at the top of the page, then click “Register Online.” This will take you to the Lt. Governor’s website where you can fill out a quick form and you’ll be registered! Online registration is only available until October 30th, so you need to act fast.

However! If you miss online voter registration, you can still get registered in person on Election Day, November 6th, at your polling location! You will need to bring an ID that meets certain requirements, but you are allowed to register to vote on-site at your polling location.

For more info on ID requirements and how to register to vote in person, go to vote.utah.gov, click “Register to Vote” at the top of the page, then click “Register at a Voting Location.”

2. I don’t know where I’m supposed to vote / where my polling location is.

Fix: Once again, head to vote.utah.gov to find your polling location! On the homepage, you can find your polling location by filling out your address in the “Find Your General Election Information” box. After you put in your address, you can see the polling location closest to your home address, as well as other locations you are eligible to vote at in your area!

3. I don’t have time to vote.

Fix: All polling locations will be open for voting from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM on November 6th for Election Day. That’s a whole 13 hours in which you can go vote!

If you feel like you don’t have time to vote because of work, in the state of Utah, your employer is required to give you up to 2 paid hours of time to go vote on Election Day, but there are some conditions.

First, your employer is only required to give you time to vote if your work time does not leave 3 hours before or after your shift to go vote (e.g. if you worked a 12 hour shift from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, that only leaves you 1 hour to vote, so you could ask your employer to give you time to go vote since it’s less than 3 hours before or after your shift).

Second, you have to give your employer notice in advance that you are going to need some time to go vote, so let them know the week before or a few days before that you are going to go vote on Election Day.

Third, your employer can tell at what time you can go vote during your shift, but you can request that the time is at the beginning or end of your shift. So, you can ask your employer if you can come in a little late or leave a little early to have time to go vote!

4. My vote doesn’t matter.

Fix: Actually, your vote matters a lot, especially in this election! This isn’t one of those exciting presidential elections, but midterm elections, like this one, are often for local and state level representatives. These votes don’t go through an electoral college or anything, every vote is counted towards the candidates and issues that are on your ballot. That means that your vote is getting counted and directly affects who is representing you. Plus, the people you are electing in this midterm election are the people who are representing you in the presidential election, so if you want your views represented on a local, state, and national level, get out there and vote for the people who reflect your views!

5. Midterms are boring.

Fix: This is part of #3, but midterms definitely aren’t boring! All of the candidates running on your ballot are local officials that represent you in your community and at a state level. They can help make changes directly in your community. They are working here in your state and communities right now! A lot of the people running are local Utahns wanting to make a difference in their community and represent our people both here locally and nationally in the Senate and Congress.

6. I don’t know anything about the candidates.

Fix: vote.utah.gov and Google are your friends here! Head to vote.utah.gov, fill out your address in the “Find Your General Election Information” box, and you can see a sample ballot showing you which candidates and issues are going to be on your ballot when you vote.

From there, do a quick Google search on the candidates and issues. Most, if not all, of the candidates have a website with their platform and views that you can review before voting. You should definitely take the time to check out the candidates’ platforms and the ballot issues to make sure you’re really voting for someone or something that does reflect your views. These are the people who will be affecting change on your behalf in government, so don’t throw away your vote!

7. I don’t care about politics.

Fix: Politics aren’t going anywhere, there will always be people that are supposed to be representing you in government. Politics affect your taxes and environment and your rights as a citizen of this country, plus so much more. Are politics as exciting as something like the lottery? No. That said, a lot of people went out and bought lottery tickets for their 1 in 1,000,000,000 chance of winning all that money even though the chances are extremely slim and realistically they probably weren’t going to win. But! They went and bought those lottery tickets anyway. There’s a way higher chance that your vote impacts you and your community than you winning the lottery, so why wouldn’t you go out and vote?

You don’t need to be eating, living, and breathing politics 24/7 to care about politics. Being involved is as easy as getting registered to vote, doing a little research on the candidates and issues on your ballot, and heading out on November 6th to vote!

Head to vote.utah.gov to get registered to vote, find out where to vote, and find out more about your ballot candidates and issues!

 

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