VOTER'S GUIDE TO 2017 and 2018 STATE, HOUSE and SENATE RACES

VOTER GUIDE TO 2018 SENATE, HOUSE,  GOVERNOR and STATE RACES

Prepared by Thom Palmer
Updated April 20, 2017

ADDED ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION LINK. Share with your community. Let's keep BLUE districts and States BLUE, and make RED districts and States BLUE. Time is short for registering new voters. State your case, and then remind them to get to the polls. 

REGISTER TO VOTE (click here)

IMPORTANT: Ask your friends and families to mark mid-term election date in their calendar, which is currently on November 6th of 2018. ALL 435 House of Representatives members will be up for election once more, and with good voter turnout, we can gain a strong Democratic majority, but....you have to either show up, or accept the consequences when Republicans gain seats back and then rub your nose in it.

Throughout this post, you'll find these LINKS. Each link "should" open in a separate window. Please let me know if this gives you want you need. I am unable to list all 435 House of Representative members, but the SAMPLE BALLOT and HOUSE RACE link will show you the matchup. You'll want to compose helpful emails, Facebook and Twitter posts for your local groups and friends. 

Grab a piece of paper and a pen. You'll want to jot down some notes.

Step 1. Locate your Congressional District
Step 2: Lookup your actual ballot using the SAMPLE BALLOT LOOKUP tool.
Step 3. Senate Races : See who is running by using your SAMPLE BALLOT LOOKUP
Step 4. House Races : A very comprehensive look at the system.
Step 5. Gubernatorial (Governors) Races : See if you Governor is up for re-election.
Step 6. Your Governor's Races (if applicable this year)
Step 7: Don't forget your STATE and LOCAL Legislators. 
Step 8. A list of top GOP leaders to knock off in 2017 and 2018.

FIRST THINGS FIRST. 

Find your Congressional District

You don't need to enter your full address. Just put your zip code in the address field, and it should find you unless your zip is split between two districts. Let me know if anything looks goofy.

WHAT'S MY DISTRICT? 

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/map

If you're like most Democrats, you'll just choose anyone with a "D" next to their name. Frankly, this is the most sure-fire way of straightening out Congress and saving the planet. However, Only 31% of the electorate are registered Democrats.

Here's the breakdown...

Democrats 31%

Republicans 27%

Independents and Third Party 38%

And when you factor in Independents that lean Democrat or Republican, you have...

Democrats 48%

Republicans 41%

Any way the wind blows 11%

WHO IS UP FOR RE-ELECTION?

All 435 U.S House of Representatives go up for re-election EVERY TWO YEARS. The two year term is required by our Constitution. HOWEVER, Only 1/3 of the 100 Senators (there are two for each state) go up for re-election EVERY TWO YEARS. Their term is six years, but they rotate in order to keep drastic changes from happening.

In 2014 mid-terms, only 17% of registered Democrats showed up to vote. So, with a 10% congressional approval rating, Republicans in both the House and Senate gained seats. This is why it's so important that you not only showed up on November 8th of last year, but mark your calendar for November 6th, 2018 as well. Otherwise, whatever gains Democrats make in the Presidential year they graciously give back to the GOP two years later. Republicans then say "THE VOTERS HAVE SPOKEN" and call it a mandate to screw the President. Having the moral high ground means NOTHING if you freely donate House and Senate seats to Republicans. We need to put them in the penalty box for about a decade. It is imperative that you promote elections and SHOW UP EVERY TWO YEARS.

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SAMPLE BALLOT LOOKUP

This is a really good tool once we get closer to the election. There won't be sample ballots until a couple of months before the election, but the tool will direct you to local election dates and other great information.  I love it, because you're able to get ahead of the curve, look up your candidates and ballot measures, and then start conversations on Facebook and Twitter, or the grocery store. Once candidates are figured out, post information about your Democratic candidates in order to bolster and promote name recognition and policy positions. Don't make it too long (like me) because less people will read it, and this is a numbers game.

SHOW ME MY NOVEBER 6th BALLOT

https://ballotpedia.org/Sample_Ballot_Lookup

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UNITED STATES SENATE

Click the link to find your Senate races. Then, locate your candidate's web site, and share their policy page with all of your groups and contacts. With what we hope to be increased turnout for Democrats and Independent voters, we can't afford to lose the opportunity to re-take the Senate. We will need a Democratic Senate in order to reduce the obstructionism that the GOP has already vowed to continue.

1/3 of SENATORS GO UP FOR RE-ELECTION EVERY TWO YEARS. HERE'S THIS YEARS MATCH-UPS

U.S. SENATE MATCH-UPS BY STATE

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U.S. House of Representatives

ALL 435 HOUSE of REP MEMBERS GO UP FOR RE-ELECTION THIS EVERY TWO YEARS. 
Here's your ballots for November, but don't forget 2018 as well. We only need to pick up 24 seats out of the 435 up for re-election to retake the House. "YES WE CAN"

BALLOTPEDIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DETAILS

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GOVERNORS RACES

GOVERNORS RACE PREDICTIONS FOR 2017 and 2018

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STATE and LOCAL RACES

Don't forget your STATE Senate and House races. These are SEPARATE from the U.S. House and Senate races and play a HUGE role in the things that pertain to your individual state, such as regulations which control the cleanliness of your water, safety of your food, wages, clean energy, and infrastructure, taxes, voter suppression, and a whole lot more. You can have two Democratic U.S. Senators, but if your state legislators are all Republican, you'll still be wondering how the majority of your electorate voted for Democrats, yet gerrymandering gave your state a majority of Republican lawmakers. 42 states are holding state Senate races on November 6th. Keep in mind that most local ( Mayors, City Council, etc ) races happen during summer or fall in off years, so you need to check your city web site for election dates. Build DEMOCRACY from the ground up. City and State first, Congress and Senate next.

DEMOCRACY REQUIRES VOTING, AND VOTING HAPPENS NEARLY EVERY YEAR, SOMETIMES TWICE IN ONE YEAR. Pay attention, list your dates and mark your calendars. IT'S FREE(DOM). 

THIS LINK GETS YOU TO YOUR STATE SENATE and LEGISLATURES MATCH-UPS 

BALLOTPEDIA STATE RACES 2017

BALLOTPEDIA STATE RACES 2018