'Tis The Season

It has been an odd week. My children have been playing Christmas music for the past few days and when I walk out my back door at the office, it smells like Christmas (we lost a pine tree in the storm, which when cut up (thank you to the McDonald family!) left a fresh pine scent behind. Even Lois, our Events Coordinator, has already mapped out where the Christmas tree will be placed this year. But the holiday season hasn't been anywhere near my mind. Instead, I have been gearing up for the election season.

Election Day 2008 Is Filled with Firsts

As stated on http://www.voteforbusiness.net/: "The landmark 2008 election marks the first time since the 1928 election in which neither an incumbent president nor an incumbent vice president is running for their party's nomination in the presidential election, and the first time since the 1952 election that neither the incumbent President nor incumbent Vice President is a candidate in the general election. The 2008 election is also notable because it is the first time in U.S. history that two sitting senators will run against each other for president." And of course we have the "woman/minority thing" going on as well. This election will certainly be one for the history books.

Are You A Registered Voter?

In Presidential election years, voter turnout in Ohio has been pretty good. Looking back over the last 5 cycles (1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 & 2004) the average turnout has been a little over 70%. Licking County has historically been slightly above the state in terms of turnout. In 2004, 80,536 votes were cast in Licking County, equating to a 72.3% turnout.

Did you know that Ohio is one of twenty-six states that offers "no-fault" absentee voting? This allows you to vote absentee without an explanation. But of course you need to be a registered voter to take advantage of this. If you need to register, click here to print a voter registration form NOW. To request an absentee ballot, call the Licking County Board of Elections at (740)670-5080 or the Ohio Secretary of State's office at (877) 767-6446.

A great site to check out for loads of information is http://www.voteforbusiness.net/, sponsored by the US Chamber of Commerce. You can look up your elected officials and find the state and federal candidates running for election this fall. And let's not forget http://www.lickingcountyvotes.com/ for additional information on state and local races.

Local Elections

The Licking County Chamber has a variety of ways that you can become an educated voter on candidates and issues. In the next few weeks we will be publishing our 2008 General Election Candidate Questionnaire results. This is a way for you to review, in the candidate's own words, where he or she stands on issues that are important to the Licking County business community. Look for this publication on our website in the near future.

We will also be hosting our Annual Candidate's Night on October 16 at C-TEC. We will be featuring candidates running for Licking County Commissioner (2 seats) and State Representative - 71st & 91st House Districts. Check out our events page for more details. Thanks to Hopewell Federal Credit Union for sponsoring this event.

As you can tell, the election season is upon us. Yard signs have begun to pop up and soon your mailbox, voice mail and email will fill up with literature from all directions. I hope you will utilize the tools that are available to make an informed decision, no matter what political affiliation you are.

As always, feel free to contact us if we can be of any assistance to you.