This site is a collection of how I am educating myself to vote in the 2020 election. Follow along, learn something yourself. Or, even better, teach me something!
Timelines
When preparing to vote, I think about it like looking in the fridge. Some stuff has got to go (its old, we don’t like it, its not good for us) and some stuff we should get more of.
But how frequently should we look in the fridge? Every day? Probably not necessary. But maybe every week or 2 weeks. In this same way, in order to maintain government, we should take a look at it (vote, think about it) on some consistent basis.
The regular cadence of “looking” varies depending on what we are looking at.
State vs Federal Cadence of Decision Making
States and federal governments make decisions at regular intervals. However, state decisions occur at a more frequent cadence than federal decisions do. Here is a diagram that shows that. Just FYI.
Path to Presidency
The most obvious federal decision is the decision of who becomes President. There is alot of hoopla around making that decision. However you feel about it, here is a diagram showing the “path to presidency” that hopefully clarifies the many steps in the process. You can download this PDF here.
What’s “Votable” Every Year
Surprise! Not everything is votable every year. Since positions and ballots all run on varying timelines of expiration, what we vote on each year changes.