Ann M. DeLaney

You should tell your children some facts about politics. Who knows? Maybe some or all of it will sink in. Your kids may not look as though they’re paying attention, but they’ll probably remember. After all, someday, when you suddenly go from being the dumbest parent in the world to being okay (if only by comparison to the even dumber parents of your kids’ friends), some of these points may have an impact on your children.

Before the 2000 election, most U.S. residents hadn’t thought about the electoral college since high school. A few people discussed changing the electoral college after the close election of 1960, but those discussions were short-lived. Al Gore won the popular vote in 2000 by about a half-million votes, but George W.

Both major U.S. political parties hold conventions during the summer of a presidential election year. Delegates to each convention ratify the party’s choice for president and nominate the choice for vice president.Independent candidates for president don’t undergo the nominating process; after all, independent candidates don’t represent a party.

The answer is a resounding yes, but only if you’re registered to vote! If you don’t register, you declare yourself out of the game, and no one makes any effort to find out what you think or what you want. Officials don’t contact you to solicit your ideas or concerns because you don’t show up on their carefully compiled lists of registered voters.

If the thought of politics makes you cringe, don’t worry, you can get involved as little or as much as you like in politics. If you want to voice your concerns, use these handy resources to contact your representative, and when you do call, be prepared to offer some information to them. Use a checklist of things to look for (and not look for) when searching for a candidate worthy of your vote.

Many of us — more than 255 million citizens in this country — are eligible to vote but only about 140 million voted in the 2016 national election. Every citizen of the United States who is at least 18 years of age may register and vote.Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia permit some form of same day registration.

Elected officials come in three levels: federal, state, and local. You have a role in determining who gets elected to all three. You can think of these officials as three tiers of a wedding cake: As you move down, each layer gets larger and larger, with more and more politicians. (See Figure 1.) The president and the vice president go on top of the cake of politicians.