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Politics & Government

I Voted! Helpful Hints If You Have Yet to Go to the Polls

If you've voted, tell us how it went! If you haven't, here are some tips from someone who's recently been there, done that.

"I Voted."

The sticker says it all, but never enough. Every time I vote I'm reminded of how lucky and grateful I am to live in the United States of America, in the 21st century, stoked up on my large, $1 McCafe coffee and participating in what may well be—for all its faults—the greatest democracy in the history of planet Earth.

That said, I want to make your voting in this local election as easy as possible, so here are a few Batavia-centric reminders and advice as you head to your polling places, based on my recent, personal experience. (Quick confession: I live in Geneva, so if there are any quirky, Batavia-centric pieces of voting advice you'd like to share, please add them in the comments field below!)

Find out what's happening in Bataviawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Read up before you vote. There are a lot of local races, and you don't want to be deciding based on whatever name sounds "nice." Batavia Election Central is one place to look first.

Be wary of the Kane County Clerk's Office sample ballot. I did a quick Internet search and went to check my sample ballot at this site. When I filled in my name and address, it gave me a sample ballot for the November election. Maybe there's another link that works for April 9, 2013; I just couldn't find it.

Find out what's happening in Bataviawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

My least-knowledgeable vote was for the Waubonsee Community College Board. You can find a Q&A at the Kane County Chronicle Election Central. The candidates are Richard Bodie, Richard Dickson, L. Michael Konen, Emmett Bonfield and Isaac Wilson.

My second-least-knowledgeable vote was for Regional Board of School Trustees. The candidates are Mary Shepro of St. Charles, Chad Koppie of Rutland and Kevin Williams of Geneva.

The Batavia Patch editor (me) did a lousy job this election season in covering the local races, so I'm going to recommend a few places to look.

For Batavia election-related articles on Batavia Patch, I recommend a search for the keywords "Election 2013" and "Batavia Election 2013."

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