Do you know who you are voting for Nov. 8? You probably have your picks from president all the way down to state offices. After all, you have been inundated with political advertisements and national, state and local media exposure. What about county commissioner, city council and school board members? If you haven’t decided yet, or maybe don’t even know who is running, you are not alone. These candidates get far less exposure (only by local media) and run much smaller campaigns.

Local officials affect your daily lives as much as national and state candidates. I am running for school board this year, and of course I would love your vote, but this isn’t about me. It’s about you, our community, our school district and our children. I know you are all busy, so I took the time to give links and helpful tips to navigate through the local candidates.

Here is the link to find out who is on your ballot: http://www.co.freeborn.mn.us/167/Elections. It will give you the list of candidates, a sample ballot and your polling location. Then you can do your research. On the Albert Lea Tribune’s website, just type in a candidate’s name, and articles that mention that candidate will show up. You can really get a good feel for the candidates this way. There are articles that mention me speaking at board meetings long before I decided to run for school board. Watch the candidate forums. Here is the link to the school board candidate forum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTyP5I4ydws. Many candidates have personal and candidate Facebook pages. Check these out and message candidates with questions. I know that I welcome questions.

We all want to make sure we choose the best candidates, but it’s tough to stay informed. Local elections matter. Please do your research, so that you can vote for the candidates who will represent you and make the best decisions for our community and our school district.

If you are not registered to vote, you’re in luck. You can register at the polls. Here is one more link explaining what you need to bring with if you are registering at the polls: http://vote.minneapolismn.gov/voters/election-day-register. No matter who you choose to vote for, please vote on Nov. 8!

Angie Hanson

Albert Lea