Vote! (And Wear A Mask)

As election day on November 3rd rapidly approaches, a responsibility of everyone with the right to vote is to make a plan and follow through on voting. Place-based education invests in our community. Place-based education gives our students the courage and clarity to make change in our world. Place-based education in a democracy means exercising the right to vote.

November 3rd is election day for President of the United States, US Senator, and US House and depending on where you live includes elections for State, County, and City representatives. Depending on where you live in Teton Counties WY and ID there are also judicial positions, hospital trustees, sheriff, prosecuting attorney, school board positions, a sales and use tax, a school levy, and even a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Looking at a ballot in our democracy is a literal representation of place-based principle local to global (well…national).

Mountain Academy staff have put together an excellent resource for Wyoming and Idaho residents to build your voting plan for November 3rd. It includes due dates, early voting details, poll locations, poll hours, and even voting guides.

At TSS we want all employees to feel agency in their democracy with the time required to vote before or on November 3rd. For student-facing staff, plan to vote early, absentee, or know your poll closing times (7 pm in WY and 8 pm in ID). For salaried non-student facing staff, prioritize time either before November 3rd or on election day to vote. We recognize that some hourly staff at TSS are still managing hours tightly. If you’re hourly and your voting plan involves voting in-person on November 3rd, please take the time to vote while on the TSS clock.

Feeling out of control or without agency can be a recipe for stress and anxiety. Health and physical safety. Political worries. It is all a lot to manage right now. Making a voting plan and acting on it invests in your community, invests in your country, and is one way to feel agency in an uncertain time.