On Voting Smartly

an essay by Roger B Rueda

A lot of voters take positions on political issues without doing their assignment. They are simply won over by friends, the mass media, the political party their family have constantly supported, or what they have confidence in is the predominant public judgement. With a little enquiry, any person can be an educated constituent. Here are the things I want you to do to be a clever person on the electoral roll.

1

Call on the websites for the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and Liberal parties, as well as third-party groups. Learn about their primary objectives, values, proposals, and favoured programmes. You can try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nationalist_Alliance or http://www.liberalparty.ph/. (In making our decision we should peruse the politicians accomplishments for the past three years.)

2

Go to the official websites of the senatorial candidates for this election. Like the party sites, they will present predisposed opinions for why that candidate is the best in the field. Relate them to each other, and compare the educations and capabilities of each candidate without favouritism. Read the major programmes each candidate wants to implement and ask if it would help you.

3

Pay attention to contrasting standpoints. It is not uncommon for people to thoughtlessly keep an eye on the word of the party they wish to vote for, or just vote against the other party. An educated voter should be able to come up with real explanations for why she is voting for someone or against someone else. The only way to do that is to consider the standpoints of all candidates without preference. Watch any debates and take notes on how aspirants explain or defend their policy proposals.

4

Read the profiles of all candidates, as well as any declarations for and against local propositions. Know if your politicians attend session regularly or if they have professionalism on their dealings. Ask your friends if a political party and a personal ambition play the primary roles in shaping how politicians view the adequacy of professionalism in their workplaces.

5

Show up at caucuses. Ask your politicians some issues and let them shed light on the issues you don’t understand.

6

Don't depend on quotes in a newspaper article or broadcast sound bites for information. If you missed a speech or news conference, read the texts online, or watch it in its totality online.

7

Write to the politician who has given you some money. Send the money back to him by mail and explain why you are voting for him without his money. Tell him that he should respect you because you have respect for him and that you believe that a vote is a sacred thing for you as you have a sense of human dignity. Don't let your politicians affront you. 

8
Befriend your local politicians at Facebook. Communicate with them. Like their pages. Interact with your barangay chair, councillors, mayor, representative, board members, governor, and senators. Know them well.

Remember voting is not like ordering food off of a menu. When you order bloodstew at a restaurant, you alone bear the consequences of your decision. No one else gets stuck with bloodstew. If you make a bad choice, at least you are hurting only yourself. For the most part, you ought to internalise all of the costs and benefits of your decision.