October 12, 2006 10:55 AM CDT

Reminder to Vote

By Jessica Johnson Bennett

Both MCAA's mid-year meeting in Hawaii and the mid-term elections are quickly approaching. Due to the fact that many of you may be traveling to Hawaii on November 7th for mid-year meeting and may not have the opportunity to vote that day, I wanted to provide you all with a few quick options. Also, I would like to reiterate to you the importance of voting. On election day each persons one vote is as powerful as any of the special interests or politicians in Washington.

There are only 28 days before one of the most important elections in the last 10 years. It is important to note that all 435 members of the House of Representatives are up for re-election, meaning, each of you has an important race in your home state. In addition, one-third of the Senate is also up for re-election. I am sure many of you have seen the speculation by the media regarding which party will be in power after November 7th. No matter which party you are affiliated with, it is imperative that you vote. Believe it or not your one vote counts and in many of the House races it could come down to just a few votes.

There a 2 options for voting before November 7th. All states offer voters the option of voting prior to the election. This is referred to as absentee voting. Other states permit voters to vote in person at the offices of county clerks or at other satellite voting locations. This is referred to as early voting or in-person absentee voting.

Absentee voting is conducted by mail-in paper ballot prior to the day of the election. While all states offer some version of it, there is quite a lot of variation in states' procedures for absentee voting. For instance, some states offer "no-excuse" absentee voting, allowing any registered voter to vote absentee without requiring that the voter state a reason for his/her desire to vote absentee. Other states permit voters to vote absentee only under a limited set of circumstances.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

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About the Author

Jessica Johnson Bennett was the Director of Government Affairs for MCAA. She has an extensive background in public affairs and government relations. Her expertise in strategic planning, PAC management and operations help on key policy issues.