YAWN!!! Some people are actually (gasp!) yawning about the fact that the election is TODAY!

So….to get rid of the yawns, to get you fired up and ready to vote today, here are some kids sharing why they think voting is important:

“Voting is important so you can have the right person to make the laws. So everyone has a chance to be a leader, instead of just having a princess and a prince. And also, to have the right to vote is very important because if no one voted, we might end up in the wrong hands.”- Paloma, age 8

“I want our leaders to be good people. And I want to go to a good school.”- Paul, age 6

“Everyone is entitled to have a voice in government. Democracy is based on the people’s voice.”- Naima, age 15

Election Day is TODAY and it’s time to get out there and vote! Since it’s a mid-term election, your vote matters more than usual. (In fact, local elections can be decided by just a handful of votes! That’s you and your family!)

So bring your kids with you to the polls. Remind your friends and neighbors that today is Election Day and bring them along to the polls. Have a spontaneous voting party. Make your voice heard loud and clear!

No matter what you do: Have. Fun. Voting!

We have 5 little things to help you vote today:

1. Take kids voting! Show your kids the importance of participating in our democracy so they’re inspired to be life-long voters. Take children inside the voting booth with you (if your state and schedule allow). Show them what they have to look forward to when it’s their turn to vote.  **Please share your experience on voting today with, or without, kids on our Facebook page. We want to know why you are voting in the 2014 election! https://www.facebook.com/MomsRising.org

1. Find out where you need to go to vote before leaving your doorstep! Are you running out the door to vote, but not exactly sure where to go since you’re moving so fast? We have your back! Thanks to our friends at Rock the Vote, you can look up your polling location by typing in your address here: http://www.rockthevote.com/get-informed/elections/find-your-polling-place/lookup.html **You can also text VOTE and your address (ex. VOTE 123 Maine St., Anytown, MI 12345) to RISING (747464) and we’ll text you your polling location.

1. Get your voting questions answered by a real, live expert! Report problems! Do you have questions about your ability to vote today? Did you see anything that looked like voter suppression or voter intimidation? Are you having any problems whatsoever at your polling site? Don’t hesitate to call our partners at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) to speak with an Election Protection expert if you’re having any problems at the polls. (For Spanish speakers, you can call: 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA). Bring this phone number with you to the polls. **If you experience or witness any problems or suspicious activity it is always best to call directly from your voting location.

1. Learn more about what’s on your ballot before you vote! Doing a little research on those tricky ballot measures, and on little-known state and local races, never hurts. So if you want to peek at your ballot in advance of the voting booth, just plug in your address to this website: http://theballot.org/

1. Inspire your Facebook and Twitter friends to vote! A recent study found that about 340,000 extra people turned out to vote in the 2010 U.S. congressional elections because of a SINGLE Election Day Facebook message. [1] That’s a big impact you can have! Share this image with your friends on Facebook and Twitter that says you voted and encourage others to do so as well: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.momsrising.org/images/Get_Out_the_Vote_Graphic_6.jpg

Overall, “own” your power---get out and vote!! Make sure to spread the word about Election Day (your friends and family are super busy as well and might have forgotten that it’s Election Day so you are doing a community service reminding them)— and have fun exercising this basic tenant of democracy….voting!

We have your back while you’re voting! We’ll be online sharing more resources and eagerly watching the results all day and night so feel free to share in the conversation on MomsRising’s Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MomsRising.org) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/MomsRising) page.

Last, but not least, send this blog to friends and family who might also find this information useful!

Happy voting!