As the weather cools and the leaves begin to change, York High School students begin to look forward to a variety of exciting fall activities: pumpkin carving, horror movies, Halloween, apple picking, and even Thanksgiving. However, there’s an additional event that many students are less informed of: midterm elections. The past two years have seen dozens of hot-topic political issues, such as climate change, inflating gas prices, gun control, racial equality, and reproductive rights. The November midterm elections provide U.S. citizens with the valuable opportunity to voice their opinions on how our country’s leaders should solve many of these issues that affect millions of people. 

The upcoming elections are especially exciting for some of the members of York High School’s senior class who are able to vote for the first time this year. Elections are a crucial part of our working democracy, and everyone who wants to have a say in their society should take this opportunity to cast their ballots. However, before first-time voters are able to do this, it’s important to complete the necessary steps to register and educate yourself on how the process works.

First, if you have not voted in the past, you need to complete your (free!) voter registration card before election day. These cards are available at the York Town Hall, on the Maine State website, and on the Town of York website. Registering to vote typically takes less than five minutes to complete, but must be done before November 8th, 2022 in order to participate in the general election. If you cannot vote in-person this November, Maine also offers absentee voting. This is frequently used by citizens who are sick, need additional time to fill out their ballot, can’t leave their home, have extreme weather conditions, or are living somewhere else during voting day (for example, attending college, traveling, or working in another part of the country). Absentee voting is when you fill out your voting ballot at home, before election day, and send in your ballot to be counted. It’s important to note that if this is your first time voting, you cannot vote absentee. First time voters are required to vote in-person.

If you have any additional questions about how to vote this year, visit rockthevote.org, or stop by the local town hall. Good luck to all of our first-time voters!