Finally! A Civics Website for Adults
Here’s a website to check out—civics information actually meant for adults!
The Dangers of Recording an Audio Book When Exhausted!
Here’s my embarrassing audio blooper. Have a listen…
Civics vs. Disinformation
I found this great list of three ways that Civics can address the threat of disinformation. What’s disinformation? Lies about our country and its systems that are purposely spread to create division and despair among citizens. It’s crazy effective, which is why people and foreign governments do it. Disinformation is designed to sow division… …Civics […]
“What’s to stop someone from impersonating me at the polls?”
Photo from unsplash.com I worked a 15-hour day at the MN primary August 9. It was lots of fun, even though I was exhausted the next day. Voters were funny… “I’ll be back this afternoon to vote again!” Or “Here’s $20. I need a fishing license.” What wasn’t funny, however, were the handful of […]
The Wizards of Elections
I love the Wizard of Oz! And I love the scene where Toto pulls back the green curtain to reveal the “wizard.” Elections are like that. While all you do is fill in those ovals on your ballot, there’s a ‘wizard’ behind the scenes making everything work. That ‘wizard’ is the one in charge […]
Thank your local election official…
While federal and state government set up the rules about elections, our elections are run at the local level, usually the county. While the title may differ (they may be called clerks, recorders, registrars) the job is insanely complicated. The election official (EO) must wear multiple hats. Here are four: Hat 1) IT (information […]
To Err is to be Human
Photo by niu niu Are elections entirely free of errors? No. Does every single person do the correct thing when voting? No. Humans design elections, humans run elections, and humans participate in them. So people will make mistakes. We must accept a certain level of error in our elections because they are run by humans. […]
What about Absentee Ballots?
Have you heard this one before? “I received two absentee ballots in the mail!” someone exclaims. “Election fraud!” “I got three,” another voter cries. “This means I can vote three times! Election fraud!” Ah, no. They are likely confusing the absentee ballot application with the ballot itself. You may receive multiple absentee ballot applications. […]
Sign up!
Photo from Unsplash If you have any concerns about election integrity, the best way to learn more is to actually help run one. Sign up to be a poll worker/election judge (or whatever your city or county calls them.) Why is this important? In 2016 there were over 116,000 polling places in over 8800 separate […]
My Big, Scary Pivot
After sharing my life with sheep, goats, and llamas for 25 years, it’s been hard to find anything to write about that’s as challenging as farming. I’d always wanted to go back to school, but we can’t afford the $1400/credit graduate school tuition. But then I learned that to encourage lifelong learning, MN residents who […]