As Americans we've inherited a spectacular gift - a government designed to respond to our needs and protect our basic rights.  It was built with sweat, blood, and imagination.  It's future is guaranteed so long as we are active, informed, and broadly involved.  Unfortunately, the trend is in the opposite direction.

Participation in the political system, as measured by voter turnout, has generally been declining over the past forty years.  Our opinions about the quality of our government have been declining along with turnout.  Other measures of involvement like membership in a political party are also dropping.

As broad masses of Americans have grown cooler toward the political process, the process itself has heated up.  Pushed by a shrinking base of their most radical supporters, the two main political parties field candidates who are farther and farther from the traditionally moderate mainstream of the country.  The result is deep division in our government and weak leadership unable to resist the power of special interests.

It doesn't have to be this way.  Here at LocalVoter, we think Americans want to be more involved in the political process, but many of them are put off by the tone of politics, and frustrated by the challenge of finding basic political information in a reliable, non-partisan format.

LocalVoter can help by providing links to the basic information you need to get started.  You can help by working to change the tone of our politics.  Together well, who knows what we can do.

Our Getting Involved Guide will be released in segments, starting with Part 1, focused on Voter Registration and moving along though volunteering, and other issues.

Feel free to contact us by email at contact@localvoter.com with your comments or questions.