Hello everyone.  It's that time of year, maybe the first for some of you.  Election time.  Local, regional, national...  It's all going to happen very soon.  Why should you care?  Many people, particularly of our age, are disenfranchised with the political climate.  "It doesn't effect me"  "They're all the same."  Yes, I've heard it before, but honestly who is elected is important.   Florida was a good example of that.  Whether you approved or didn't approve, I am sure you still feel the importance.  Here at this site I would like to make a non-partisan effort at helping you through the elections.  That's right because I feel it is that important. 
Here it goes:

Steps to take when choosing a candidate:

1. Register:  Are you registered or have you ever been?   If you are not then you can sign up here online at Working for Change.com.  If you prefer a paper copy then you can print a National Voter Registration which is good in almost every state.  Also, on the National Voter Registration the states are listed with the deadline for registered in each state.  (Tennessee's deadline is thirty days prior to the election) Absentee and early voting will be discussed below.
2. Be Informed: It is always good to know a little about the candidates ahead of time, and that means a little research.  Yet, instead of having to spend hours searching backlogs of information on candidates there are a few sites that one can go to.  First of all, there is Project Vote Smart.  This site will help you look at candidates records and stances.  Also, the League of Women Voters and their affiliated site DemocracyNet can help inform you on candidates.  For those of you in the Hamilton County - Chattanooga area click here for a sample ballot and more information specifically on politicians in our local area.
3. Just Vote: Go to the polls.  The primaries for your local races are on August 5, with early elections explained below.  Your local county election commission should show what district you are in and what location you are to vote at (i.e. church, public school, community center).  Voting for presidential candidates and local ones (not the primary) takes place on November 2.  Hamilton County Election Commission link is here and on the seperate page made for Hamilton County/Chattanooga voting located here.
4. Absentee Voting and Early Voting - First of all, with both Absentee voting and early voting each state has their own rules for when and how to register/vote.  ActiVote America is a nonpartisan group which has information on how, when, and who can register absentee, yet so does Project Vote Smart.  As of yet, I have not been able to find one site with dates and times for early voting for all precincts in the U.S.,  therefore, I advise that you type in Early Voting and your county's name into a search engine and you should find a helpful site.  Early voting in Hamilton County, TN for the local candidate's primaries is already occurring and will conclude with the main election day of August 5, 2004, which is a Thursday.  While the presidential election main date is Nov. 2 and the primaries are before hand respectively with the rules of the state that you vote in.

       Once again if there is one thing you see this year it should be your completed ballot.  So go out and vote.  All the links will be summarized at the bottom with an additional link for Hamilton County information.

Links
Information about Voting in General
ActiVote America
League of Women Voters
Project Vote Smart
Register
National Voter Registration
Project Vote Smart
Working for Change.com
Information on Candidates
DemocracyNet
League of Women Voters
Project Vote Smart
Hamilton County and Chattanooga Information
Click Here