Before You Head to the Polls…

When my daughters were in grade school, I took them with me to vote. Even young kids know the importance of voting, for their favorite singer or movie or where to go for a family dinner. It’s too bad that some of us forget when we get older.

I’m always a bit surprised at how elections unfold, at least those for statewide and national office. It seems like things get started earlier and earlier, stretched out longer and longer, and it’s just hard to stay focused for all those months. Then, all of a sudden — it’s time to vote! Across Wisconsin, people are thinking “Hey, what do I really know about these candidates? What’s my legislative district, anyhow? And how come voter turnout is so much lower in non-presidential elections?”

So, it’s no surprise that Wisconsin Public Television and Wisconsin Public Radio’s shared election website, WisconsinVote.org, has a little bit of traffic year round, a little bit more as campaigning starts, and then, WHAM! A few days before the election, there are hundreds of thousands of visits.

Election coverage and analysis is one of the most important things we do. In my view, there’s no better source than WPT and WPR. Viewers and listeners absolutely know for sure that we’re working with one purpose: to give you the information you need to make an informed decision. As Gwen Ifill says, “We answer to nobody but you”.

So, we have in-depth interviews on Here and Now and stories on the important issues from around the state. We give every qualified national and statewide candidate an opportunity to record a five-minute statement that we broadcast and share online.

Our colleagues at WPR talk with virtually every candidate for legislative, judicial and executive offices on their talk shows. All that work, along with voting information, election resources and full news coverage is available at WisconsinVote.org.

And, we host debates, we listen to you for issues important to local communities, we truth check political ads and find the truth within complex messaging, and we go beyond election headlines to bring you substance and information you can actually use.

Our goal in all of this is to serve you, to provide perspective you perhaps hadn’t considered, to share the voices of other residents who may not otherwise be heard, to give you insights into issues you previously didn’t have, all in an effort to help create an informed electorate, and to cut down on the noise and clutter. So, how are we doing? We’d love to hear from you on this or any issue.

Oh, and my daughters? They’re both grown and out in the world, registered voters and part of our great democracy. Neither one of them has ever run for political office, but as their dad, I’m ok with that.

Remember to vote on Nov. 4, and take your kids.