Exercise Your Rights and Vote!

Posted on by fewadmin

We cannot afford for you to stay silent.

In life you must know when it is the appropriate time to speak up; when it is the correct time to share your perspective and join the process.   For many Americans, it seems as voting is a right we take for granted far more than we should.  In fact, for a long time in the United States, only white, property-owning men could vote. African-Americans were given the right to vote in 1870 yet were blockaded from exercising that right for many years, until the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. The first country to allow women to vote was New Zealand in 1893. The United States didn’t allow women to vote until 1920, 80 years after people began working for the cause. It is easy to forget that people dedicated their lives to these battles, as we live in a world where such blatant inequality seems impossible. But we only have this mindset because some people gave everything in the name of suffrage.

So, after our long history of working towards having the right to vote, why stay silent now?   Information is at your fingertips and barriers have ceased to be an excuse in so many ways.  In fact, there are a variety of ways to find out about each candidate.  You can watch the news, read the paper, check out online sources, subscribe to a newsletter and follow candidates on social media.  Just like everything else in life, if you want to know you can find out.   Just remember, the future of our elections impacts us all and we need you to participate.  It is the one thing, outside of your job, paying your bills, and taking care of your family and friends, that I would say is an obligation.  Just like all of the things mentioned, there are consequences to you not participating and voting.

I encourage you to find your voice and exercise your right.  Use your muscle, your vote!  Primary elections are going on now.  See the schedule below.  Voting is a right that must be exercised. Don’t be the person who complains about the results, even though you didn’t do what you could to sway them. Politics are politics, and there will always be things with which you disagree, but at the end of the day, it is our duty as citizens to let our voices be heard and vote.

 

 

Primary dates and filing deadlines, 2018

State Filing deadline for primary candidates Primary election
Texas 12/11/2017 3/6/2018
Illinois 12/4/2017 3/20/2018
Indiana 2/9/2018 5/8/2018
North Carolina 2/28/2018 5/8/2018
Ohio 2/7/2018 5/8/2018
West Virginia 1/27/2018 5/8/2018
Idaho 3/9/2018 5/15/2018
Nebraska 3/1/2018 5/15/2018
Oregon 3/6/2018 5/15/2018
Pennsylvania 3/20/2018 5/15/2018
Arkansas 3/1/2018 5/22/2018
Georgia 3/9/2018 5/22/2018
Kentucky 1/30/2018 5/22/2018
Alabama 2/9/2018 6/5/2018
California 3/9/2018 6/5/2018
Iowa 3/16/2018 6/5/2018
Mississippi 3/1/2018 6/5/2018
Montana 3/12/2018 6/5/2018
New Jersey 4/2/2018 6/5/2018
New Mexico 3/13/2018 6/5/2018
South Dakota 3/27/2018 6/5/2018
Maine 3/15/2018 6/12/2018
Nevada 3/16/2018 6/12/2018
North Dakota 4/9/2018 6/12/2018
South Carolina 3/30/2018 6/12/2018
Virginia 3/29/2018 6/12/2018
Washington, D.C. 3/21/2018 6/19/2018
Colorado 3/20/2018 6/26/2018
Maryland 2/27/2018 6/26/2018
New York 4/12/2018 6/26/2018
Oklahoma 4/13/2018 6/26/2018
Utah 3/15/2018 6/26/2018
Tennessee 4/5/2018 8/2/2018
Kansas 6/1/2018 8/7/2018
Michigan 4/24/2018 8/7/2018
Missouri 3/27/2018 8/7/2018
Washington 5/18/2018 8/7/2018
Hawaii 6/5/2018 8/11/2018
Connecticut 6/12/2018 8/14/2018
Minnesota 6/5/2018 8/14/2018
Vermont 5/31/2018 8/14/2018
Wisconsin 6/1/2018 8/14/2018
Alaska 6/1/2018 8/21/2018
Wyoming 6/1/2018 8/21/2018
Arizona 5/30/2018 8/28/2018
Florida 5/4/2018 8/28/2018
Massachusetts 6/5/2018 9/4/2018
Delaware 7/10/2018 9/6/2018
New Hampshire 6/15/2018 9/11/2018
Rhode Island 6/27/2018 9/12/2018
Louisiana 7/20/2018 11/6/2018