Maryland Retired School
Personnel Association

The general election of 2022 is now upon us, and it is time for all of us to do our homework. It’s time to check the websites of the candidates, attend candidate forums, watch debates, read the literature and ask questions. We need to go beyond the flashy advertising, the sound bites and quips on TV or radio to learn about the policies and beliefs that the candidates espouse and to know not just what their party is but what they hope to accomplish during their term should they be elected.

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By the time November 8th arrives, most of us will be tired of seeing and hearing the political ads. We will be glad that we won’t have to see or listen to the advertising, and that our mailboxes will be free of the campaign materials for another 18 months. But we must remember that it is our responsibility to be well educated voters. While we can’t know everything that a candidate will do or everything that they believe, we can learn where they stand on the issues that are important to us. We must do our homework before we vote.

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Some of us will undoubtedly be unhappy with the results of the election. Some of the candidates we choose to support will win and some will not. But if we have done our homework, and if we voted, and encouraged other voters to do the same, then we will have done what millions across the world wish they could do. We will have participated in the democratic process that is so precious and important to us all. And we will do it all again in two years.

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As we know, 155 million Americans voted in the 2020 general election, the largest voter turnout so far this century. Seventy-four percent of Maryland voters participated in the election with voters aged 45+ outpacing younger voters by just a few percentage points. There was clearly great interest in that election. Let’s ensure that 2022 is no different. Vote early or on election day, but please do your homework and vote!