Absentee Ballots - action needed by Friday

I’m embarrassed to publicly admit that I have not voted in every major election. It’s true – and I haven’t always had a good reason. Maybe one of the kids was sick, or I was bogged down with work, or I didn’t know where the polling place was. I know I was busy (because I’m always busy) and I seem to live every day in this “I can’t possibly fit one more thing into my day” kind of way. So I have missed a few votes in my life.

I have justified this failure by deciding that my vote wouldn’t really count. That justification usually works because my husband and I tend to vote against each other. So, if I don’t vote and I forget to remind him to vote, we’re even. Unfortunately, when you don’t vote, you lose any right to complain about an election’s outcome. Think about how painful that can be when you live in the great state of New Jersey! And even more unfortunate is that a few years ago there was an election where my vote really did matter…

A few years ago, before my children entered the Haddonfield School System (and way before I became interested in class sizes, swing districts, district funded unemployment benefits, or 504 plans) I was on the fringe of the school budget discussion. I was too busy to learn, never got engaged in the issues, skimmed over the newspaper articles and letters to the editor, and then on voting day… I decided I was not informed enough to vote. That year the school budget was defeated by only 10 votes.

Yes, it is ironic that I am here now blogging about this school election and trying to gain your vote. It’s karma. It’s me giving back. It’s me saying I’m sorry I was too busy to vote when the kids were 3 and 4 years old. Because my vote mattered – it is a small town, and these are big issues and when it comes down to 10 votes, every vote matters.

The polls on April 20th are open from 7am to 9pm. If you would like, I’ll call you with a personal wake up call. Maybe I’ll bring you coffee – I want you to get to the polls on April 20th. I’ll even tell you where to vote: one of my future blogs will be dedicated to where each polling place is. I’m going to make this as easy for you as possible.

Now that I have gotten that off my chest (whew) it is time to talk about Absentee Ballots, which NJ has renamed “Vote by Mail”. You no longer have to be out of town to qualify for an absentee ballot. You can vote by mail from the comfort of your home during any election. The process is simple, but (and this is important) YOU NEED TO DO IT NOW. There is a form that you need to complete and mail in, and that form is due 7 days before the election. Then they will mail you the ballot, which you also have to mail in. Since it this process is a few steps and replies on the US Mail, anyone interested in securing an absentee ballot should mail their Vote By Mail request in by Friday, April 9th.

The link to the Vote By Mail/Absentee Ballot site is located on the sidebar of this blog. Click right through to download the form. Don’t forget to do it by Friday. And if you miss the deadline, don’t worry, just call me for your wake-up call on the 20th.