Do your homework before casting ballot

I didn't know how politically naive I was until the race for the primaries got started. I had never gone to meet candidates before, I had never understood how a local Party office selected their endorsements. What an eye opener!

I always thought that the sample party ballot I got from my Republicans of Wheeling Township office listed all the candidates. I was wrong. First of all, let me state they are not doing anything wrong according to the law or their bylaws. When I went to their office they were kind enough to answer my questions about the process and were able to give me voting records and information on candidates I asked about. That being said, it is important to note that not all candidates are listed on their sample ballot. People who are not 100 percent interested in politics might not be aware of that.

I thank fellow members of Tea Party Palatine for helping me to understand the process, for encouraging me to seek out information and sharing calendar events of where I could go meet the candidates. I was surprised that in four cases I switched my vote when I met the candidate. I had been voting in the past based on a candidate's resume without ever holding an interview. Shame on me.

I just want to share with others who weren't aware of all this political "stuff" that they should seek out information like full ballots from the newspapers or evoter.com. Go to the Web sites of the candidates you like and find out where to go meet them in person. To the Republicans of Wheeling Township, next time skip the full page of explanation of how you picked your "preferred list" and instead use that space to just list all the candidates.

Pam Larson

Arlington Heights