Make Your Vote Count: Key Factors to Consider When Selecting Political Candidates for Local, State, and Federal Elections

Every upcoming election, I vote. I vote whether I am in the country and can go to my local voting station, often voting early, or if away, I request and send in my absentee ballot. Sometimes, the electoral office will find some reason to disqualify my absentee ballot, but normally, they count it. I will always try my best to vote. I know the US electoral system is skewed because of interference of the corporate sector and lobby groups, an undemocratic electoral college system, and laws aimed to restrict voting rights. In effect, all these serve to weaken the democracy we are so proud to espouse to the world.

During election season, whether local, primaries, runoffs, state, or federal, we get a list or a blank ballot of all the candidates and research everyone who will get a vote. We research every referendum on the ballot and vote based on our findings. In the end, we look out for our interests. It feels like with the advent of one candidate showcasing gold sneakers, pictures of them in fried chicken establishments, and boasting that he was indicted several times, that’s likely why Black people like him (and by insinuation should vote for him). I think we have lost our way on how to select a candidate to represent us in office. At least he and his team are sure of that; thus, this ignoramus comments.

Of course, there are those that are transparently criminal reprobates and still get support. That says something frightening about the electorate.

How to Choose Your Political Candidates?

Here are some things that I consider:

1. Local Taxes: Your property tax should not be squeezing you out of your neighborhood. If that’s happening, you need the people who make those decisions — the City Council, Mayor, housing commissioners, developers, and Tax Commissioner, to make sure they are not promoting tax increases that far exceed inflation rates and are specifically designed to push out people with fixed or decreasing real incomes. These are mainly middle and lower-income families in less affluent neighborhoods. Also, look at what’s happening to your state tax. Review your previous years’ tax returns since we quickly forget these complicated things. Did you pay more or less tax when a particular state or local regime was in power?
2. Federal taxes: Also, pay attention to what’s happening to your federal taxes. Are you being audited more because you are in a Black zip code (I wrote about this in a previous article here). How do you feel about how the government spends your tax dollars? Is the war against innocent people part of your ideals for a well-spent tax dollar from your labor? Militarized and desensitized police? What about infrastructure? Do you often have to pay an auto mechanic to realign your car’s front steering end because of endless potholes on the highway? Do you feel it’s fair to pay tax while the infrastructure you need to drive on to get to work is crumbling? What about public transport? Would you like to see more of that, or are you scared of racial integration, so vote against metro rail expansion like in Atlanta?
3. Record on laws: If they are an incumbent, you can review the legislation and bills they proposed or supported. Did these help you, or were they against your well-being? For example, a law that extends open carry guns to 18-year-olds, does that improve your life and well-being? Does it pay your college tuition? Improve public schools in your area? What about a bill restricting voters from registering on election day or prohibiting people from handing out water in districts where the voting lines are long because the voting station is short of working voting machines? Does a tax break for corporate or rich people help or hurt you? It may not hurt you now, but where does the budget come from later on when they need resources? From you? You own a company and depend on reliable access to an efficient labor force. Still, your government is restricting immigration, so you have a labor shortage, or labor has become so expensive that you can’t survive in business. Does that law on the restriction of immigration help you? In a land comprised of immigrants (if you are not a Native American with ancestry dating back thousands of years, you are an immigrant or a descendant of one), does a “build a wall” rhetoric serve to nurture harmony or discord? Maybe you believe you would get that job you always wanted if there were fewer immigrants in your field. Look at what laws they support or ideals they will likely help if they are new to the office.
4. Are They Qualified For the Job: Remember, you are basically hiring your politician for a job to be responsible for managing education, laws, crime, housing, infrastructure, trade, and creating laws. You pay them for their service and expertise, as well as their staff, via your labor/output through taxes. It’s great if they have some knowledge of what they are doing. Far more importantly and harder to judge, if they have useful leadership skills. Can they be decent leaders and listen and act on policies based on their technical staff? What have they been like as leaders in their other jobs? A lawyer who is an arrogant “know-it-all” will not be willing to listen to his electorate or technical staff if he becomes attorney general. Check their track record of being effective at whatever they do for a living. Once they get into office, they will not succumb to any sensitivity training.
5. Prices: You may be concerned that your income is not taking you further when spending. Inflation is reducing your disposable income. I have been there, where I kept seeing my real income decrease and grow slower than inflation. Prices increase due to increased fuel prices, monetary policy that aims to stimulate the economy, increased taxes, and a corporate culture of using crises to increase prices. It’s greed, but that’s capitalism. There are many other factors that I won’t get into now. But you want to vote for someone who understands that you can’t buy the same bag of groceries for you and your family because of their policies. They need to change or you will vote for someone who has provided a solution that makes sense to you.
6. Aligning with your values and priorities: The determination of our politics depends on our values, beliefs, and, generally, how we see the world. I once saw a Georgia state candidate in his commercial with his wife and daughter brandishing AR rifles in Georgia. They were not advocating hunting for venison. They were advocating murdering people under the guise of protecting their rights and property. What’s important to me was not their concerns since they said nothing about their stance on economic policy, education, healthcare, infrastructure, environmental protection, and civil rights. For my values, they are far outside the things that society needs. But they appeal to a demographic of people who love guns more than people, economic policy, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and the environment. Many with funding will have to publish their viewpoints in print and electronic media. Read their views. Watch them on social media or wherever they are.
7. Transparency and Integrity: Are they people of high integrity? Evaluate the candidate’s reputation for honesty and ethical behavior. A candidate who is transparent about their actions and decisions is more likely to act in the best interests of their constituents because we can see what they are doing. Of course, there are those who are transparently criminal reprobates and still get support. That says something frightening about the electorate. Better leave that for another article. Those who hide and lie likely have lots to hide. Look for candidates who show respect for people and due care for their actions and words spoken. Remember, every speech or public statement a politician makes impacts our lives. When a candidate says, “They are good people,” referring to people who try to overturn elections, is that what you want as a candidate? If so, why? Because it’s trendy, it’s entertaining like reality television, or they have shown they will objectively help you. Or do you feel your party should take and maintain power even to the detriment of the American democracy? Because, if so, you, too, will get hurt by a fallen democracy?
8. Ability to Communicate and Collaborate: I remember that during one of our reviews of candidates for local office positions, the education candidate needed help to string a coherent sentence together. He did not get my vote. The person in charge of managing our education must at least be able to speak coherently. They must communicate persuasively to pass legislation, talk to and collaborate with their peers, and get people to support them.
9. Vision for the Future: They must be visionary. Does the candidate have a clear and feasible vision for the future? Or are they just interested in criticizing the other candidate? BTW: Beware of those who criticize without any ideas of their own. They are a waste of time as politicians. Consider how their ideas, proposals, and policies aim to address long-term real challenges (not imaginary policies that popular news channels talk about) and real opportunities. This means they should show a signal they read and have some intelligence.
10. Responsiveness to Constituents: A candidate’s ability to listen and respond to the needs of their constituents is a crucial indicator of their leadership skills. This can be demonstrated through their engagement in community events, responsiveness to public inquiries, and their presence in the community. Do they hold town hall meetings where they listen to people and react in real time to questions, or do they rely solely on news channels for information? Remember, a candidate who values your voice and listens to the people who voted for them is more likely to represent your interests effectively, making you feel valued and heard. Those who pass laws that have no support from the public need to be removed next electoral season.
11. Endorsements and Support: A candidate’s endorsements and the support they garner can provide a sense of reassurance and confidence in their credibility. Look at who is endorsing the candidate and why. Is the endorser someone you respect and who themselves have a good track record? This indicates the candidate’s credibility or lack thereof and the interests they are likely to serve. Remember, ‘birds of a feather flock together, ‘so the company a candidate keeps can speak volumes about their character and values.
12. Financial Support: Follow the money. Understanding who funds the candidate’s campaign can tell you where their influences and priorities are. Candidates supported by grassroots funding may be more likely to represent the general public’s interest than those heavily funded by specific large donors, corporations, or PACs. A candidate funded by oil companies or associations representing petroleum companies will likely make his office about serving their needs. He will unlikely care about the environment. Do a deep dive into their websites, and use resources like Campaign Finance Data, to see how much and where the money comes from.
13. Impact of Policies: Consider the broader impact of the candidate’s proposed policies on various segments of the population, including economic, social, and environmental effects. When they approve a police militarized training center, does it mean wiping out a forest? Does putting voting stations in a police station in a predominantly Black neighborhood affect voters who may have records or had run-ins with the police?
14. Adaptability: Can they serve their people under pressure? This is harder to tell at election time, and you may have to use whatever information you can find on how they behaved in other professional posts. When a crisis hits, you want a solid leader who cares about the people in that democracy and will take action to save lives and people’s welfare. Adapting to changing circumstances and modifying policies, including emergency policies, in response to new information or situations is a crucial trait for effective leadership.

Our family will make this voting event into a fun atmosphere. We get snacks and drinks and debate about each candidate and the referendum items to determine our best candidates. We take turns looking up each candidate. We will make our mark next to the candidate’s name and discuss the pros and cons of each. Sometimes, we vote for different people because we have different opinions, but it does not come between us, and we respect each other’s decisions. In the end, vote for your real interests, not because a politician seems charismatic, tells good jokes, sells you overpriced sneakers, takes photos with people who look like you, or behaves like a reality show star. Don’t vote for someone because they said they like chicken wings or have a mug shot like Black people (as if all Black people have criminal mug shots). Vote because you actually care about yourself and believe in the job the politician has to do for you.

In the comments, tell me what you look for in your candidate when voting.