In case you couldn’t tell from the glut of negative advertisements on radio and television, Election Day is quickly approaching. It’s easy to become disillusioned with the entire political process after being bombarded with name-calling politicians who heatedly accuse their opponents of everything from corruption to incompetence.

Have you stopped to educate yourselves about the candidates? A more important question is, are you registered to vote? If you’re not, it’s too late for you to make the 2007 election season, but you can get yourself registered for 2008.

I like to think that political communication is one of the more fascinating topics out there. I was a political science major, so I might be biased, but more than any other field, it mixes most conceivable communication subject into one great mess. There’s the interplay between mass (advertising) and interpersonal (campaigning) communication, broadcast strategy and media buying, social scientific research in polling, among others. Best of all, after each election, the whole strange cycle begins anew.

No one can tell you who to vote for, but if his campaign for the presidency picks up steam in the next 12 months, consider voting for my personal hero, Stephen Colbert, a man for whom truthiness and factiness still mean something.

Related Links:

Rock the Vote (http://www.rockthevote.com/home.php)

New York State Board of Elections (http://www.elections.state.ny.us/)

Indecision2008 (http://www.indecision2008.com/)

 ~Kara Kane, Assistant Director of Communications