10-15-2022 10:35pm

Your Voice, Your Vote, Our Future

Claire Flynn McIntyre Neighbor

Voting is the most fundamental of American exercises. November 8 will be the next opportunity for citizens to weigh in on the future of democracy. Voters will have the chance to make their preference known as to which candidates running for Congress, the Illinois Statehouse, and local offices will guide both our country as a whole and, more locally, our communities.

Sadly, too few voters take the time to participate in safeguarding the guardrails of our democracy.

Voter turnout has been extremely low. Some elections in Winnebago County have been decided by fewer than 300 votes.

What impact does low voter turnout have? According to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, a nonprofit law and public policy institute:

"Low turnout is not just a problem of fewer people exercising their right to participate in democracy. Low turnout skews the electorate, making it older, richer, and, with the exception of recent presidential elections, whiter than America as a whole. It also fuels political polarization, since the most extreme and partisan voters are also the most frequent voters. This leads to more extreme elected officials who enact public policies that cater more to the voting class than to non-voters."

Ask yourself, are you willing to let others make important decisions for you?

Are you ready to vote on November 8th? Have you made a plan, researched the candidates for office, thought about the various options you have for voting? How do you do that? We can help you.

The League of Women Voters of Greater Rockford in cooperation with more than 20 other local, nonpartisan organizations, has mounted a focused Get Out the Vote effort, Go Vote 815.

Go Vote 815’s goal is to put the tools in the hands of the voters that will increase the likelihood of them using their right to vote. These tools include:

The IllinoisVoterGuide.org, a website developed by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Illinois, allows voters to register online at the Illinois Board of Election voter registration site, check their registrations for accuracy, find their polling place, access their ballot information, learn how to vote by mail, and explore candidate profiles provided by the candidates themselves. We have voting materials in Spanish and English and IllinoisVoterGuide.org can be accessed in both languages.
Candidate Meet and Greets where voters can talk directly with candidates for office:
1. October 26th, 5:30 pm at the Nordlof Center, 118 N Main St, Rockford, will feature the candidates for the 67th, 68th, 69th, and 90th districts for Illinois Statehouse and the 34th, 35th, and 45th districts for the Illinois Senate.
2. October 23rd, at 2 pm, at the Hope Fellowship Church of Rockford, 1135 E. State St, Rockford will have candidates for Winnebago County Board, County Clerk, and Coroner.

Please:

Plan to vote
Urge employees, friends, family, and colleagues to vote
Share the IllinoisVoterGuide.org with friends and on your social media so they can vote informed
Share information about the candidate Meet and Greets.
Purchase a yard sign from Go Vote 815 to help advertise the Illinois Voter Guide. It can be re-used for every election.

Please contact us through our website www.govote815.org or through Facebook, Go Vote 815. Your vote. Your voice. Our future.