Vote — for the right candidates — today

Get to the polls today. It’s voting day for the primary election, and it’s your duty to cast your vote for the next batch of leaders for our state and country.

Don’t forget to vote today. But don’t just vote for the names you recognize. Before you get out to the voting station, if you haven’t done it already, look up all the candidates you’ll be choosing between, and find out as much as you can about them.

Hopefully, you’ve already done all of that. Many of the candidates, especially for the higher offices, have participated in several debates. If you didn’t get a chance to watch the debates, you can find them on the Wyoming PBS website.

To find out who will appear on your ballot, go to the County Clerk website for your county. Most counties have a function that will give you a sample ballot, if you enter your street address.

Once you know who the candidates are, head back out to the internet to find out where they stand on the issues that are important to you. Nearly all the candidates should have their own websites. The websites might not tell you all you need to know about all the issues you want to find out their stances on, but they ought to have a contact number so you can call and get that information from a campaign volunteer.

Make sure the people you’re intending to vote for have the same opinions about the things that are important to you. Check to see how they stand on the Second Amendment, public land access, and other issues that could affect hunting and fishing.

Once you have your candidates picked out, head to the polls. Your boss should give you an hour off to vote today, so take the time and cast your vote. If you don’t vote, or if you don’t do your homework before you vote, you can’t complain if the wrong person gets elected.