Voting is a public health imperative.

Health & Medicine encourages our supporters, partners, colleagues, family members, and friends to make a plan to vote in the midterm elections on November 8, 2022.

The American Public Health Association’s webinar Voting and Health: Why Access to the Ballot Box Matters is a strong statement from America’s leading public health organization on why voting is inextricably linked to public health, and why the upcoming midterm election will have a longstanding impact on public health.

So please, develop your plan to vote on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.

Here we detail three key steps to get you to the voting booth on time.

First: Are you registered?

The Illinois Voter Guide provides a way to check.  If you are not registered, you cannot register online.  In Illinois you can register at the polling place when you go to vote either on election day, or during the early voting period. You’ll need to find the right polling place based on your address. The Illinois Voter Guide also details the forms of identification you’ll need to register in person. If you have moved recently, doublecheck where you are registered and be sure you go to that polling place.

Second: Do you know what is on the ballot?

The Illinois Voter Guide site also has this!  Sample ballots are also distributed by county (or by city in the case of Chicago).  An online search will get you to your sample ballot.

Third: Do you know about the candidates and issues on your ballot?

There are lots of people providing guidance on this.  Political parties, concerned groups of various types, and the candidates themselves can tell you through their statements (yes, you guessed it, these are available through the Illinois Voter Guide).  Many people skip voting for judges, but you shouldn’t!  Judges matter. Consider Injustice Watch, a non-partisan excellent guide (which includes controversies related to the judges running for election!).

If you are eligible to vote, please do! The future of an accessible, equitable, and affordable system of public health care depends on it.