This November, your hometown election will remake America

In less than a month, voters across the country will make their voices heard as Vice President Kamala Harris faces former President Donald Trump in the race for the presidency. This election season has been highly tense, and many have meticulously followed the state of the race. However, along with the presidential election, there will be thousands of other small battles being fought at the ballot box across all 50 states this November. Everything from minor legislative tweaks to generational regulatory statutes will be voted on as the nation discusses a path forward. This November, voters will decide much more than who ends up at the Oval Office, and as the country continues down an unprecedented path of political turmoil, it has become more important than ever for Americans to focus on every race on the ballot. 

Eight states have been dominating conversations about the presidential election. Arizona, located along the Sun Belt, and the statesmaking up the Rust Belt — Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — have historically had the largest impact on the results in November.

Being situated in the Rust Belt means that Michigan has consistently topped the list as one of the key toss-up states. As such, voting in Michigan might be more impactful, given that polling has indicated such a tight race in the state. Furthermore, the state’s accessible voter registration laws, as well as the resources provided by the University of Michigan, make it easier for out-of-state students to cast their ballots in the Wolverine State.

The University has had a high student turnout rate in recent years. In the 2022 midterms, more than 52% of students cast a ballot. This is way more than the 30% turnout seen at other national institutions. Furthermore, 2021 was the first year that out-of-state U-M students outnumbered their in-state counterparts.

Michigan’s importance in the national race has made voting in the state more appealing. However, its significance on the federal ballot doesn’t always mean that voting in Michigan will be the best option for everyone. In many cases, proposals and policies in your home state could impact you or your family, and it is important to know what new policies matter most to you in order to make the most out of your vote.

In California for example, Proposition 36 will seek to raise the statewide penalty for theft and drug possession, reversing a previous proposition voted on in 2014. In New York, Proposal 1 seeks to make rhetorical changes in the state’s constitution in order to protect marginalized groups from discrimination on the basis of race, identity or sexuality. The proposal also works to codify state-level protections for abortion, which have been jeopardized by the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Propositions in Ann Arbor are, of course, still consequential. For example, Proposal C will seek to restructure the city’s election process by eliminating primaries and making candidacy more accessible for nonpartisan candidates to participate in local elections. 

Even though these aforementioned policies are only being directly disputed at the hyperlocal level, they still have national implications. Both presidential candidates have frequently addressed local issues in their individual campaigns, giving them priority in their agenda and speeches. There isn’t necessarily a division between a local referendum and the presidential election; the two work in tandem.

All of this goes to show how many of the issues relevant to us are being deliberated and discussed at every level of the democratic process, from local elections to presidential races. Problems that are important to voters are being discussed in state legislatures, and many state-level proposals could still find ways to impact you or your family in the state, even as you attend the University of Michigan.

As Nov. 5 inches closer and closer, voting in federal races can seem like the foremost way to make an impact. As the U.S. continues down a path of political turmoil, it reaches an ideological crossroads with two different visions of the country’s future competing for the population’s support. These two visions are being implemented in many places far beyond the executive office, and it is important to recognize the ways in which voters can see the change they want for the country. Local races work to determine the course of the country just as much as the federal ticket, and we should all take this into account as we decide where we’ll cast our ballot this November.

Mateo Alvarez is an Opinion Columnist studying political science. His column, “Byte the Ballot,” discusses the ways in which politics tangle with digital culture. He can be reached at mateoalv@umich.edu.

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