Nineteen candidates. Two levels of government. And nothing less than every single seat in the Virginia General Assembly. All of this hangs in the balance for our upcoming November 7th election.

Even though it doesn’t have the hype of a presidential election, this year’s state and local elections matter just as much. Whoever voters elect this year will help make decisions on a bunch of issues that impact young people right here, right now, in Virginia–things like school curriculum, gun safety, trans student policies, and a bunch of other stuff. So if you have opinions on any of these things (and we know you do), well... as Troy Bolton says in the beloved High School Musical, it's time to get your head in the game.

In this special mini-episode of The Amp, your host Vale Kerns will tell you everything you need to know to vote in the 2023 elections.

Important links:

• Get over to vote.arlingtonva.gov to find your polling location and a sample ballot
• Check out the Arlington League of Women Voters' elections guide
• If you search for your zip code on ballotopedia.org, you can read up on all of the candidates you'll be choosing from

Special thanks in this episode to Gabriel Cohen, Cody Finnegan, Timothy Scanlon, Byron Schwind, and Nikolai Bauman.

Music in this episode's from Blue Dot Sessions and Gabriel Cohen. Music supervision, editing, additional writing and post production by Gabriel Cohen.

This podcast is brought to you by Arlington Independent Media's Youth Journalism Initiative. To join us or to support our local reporting work here in Arlington VA, visit our website.