While the national elections get the headlines, the debate coverage and the water cooler arguments, the decisions that impact the lives of individuals every day are made much closer to home.

Your city council, your school board, your county commission and your mayor impact the decisions that impact your life every day. They decide which pothole gets filled, how well funded your classrooms are, where housing gets built, how your neighborhood gets policed and how much you pay in taxes. While the President of your country can’t pave your road, your city council can.
Within local elections, your vote has more impact than in the presidential election. While the presidential election candidates may win or lose based on the number of votes cast by millions of individuals, local elections are won by only a few hundred votes. Furthermore, the turnout for these local elections is often under 20%, meaning that each individual who does show up to vote has a huge amount of influence over all of the others who live within the community.
Additionally, local officials often rise to higher positions within the government. Therefore, every vote in a local election helps determine who will become members of your state legislature and congress.
Though not the most glamorous of positions or candidates, local elections are the foundation of our democracy. For those who would like to see a government that reflects their community, the best place to start is with voting in local elections closest to home.
虽然全国大选占据着新闻头条、辩论报道和人们茶余饭后的话题，但真正每天影响个人生活的决策，却是在离家更近的地方做出的。
你所在的市议会、学区教育委员会、县政委员会和市长，决定着那些每天影响你生活的事务。他们决定哪条路上的坑洼会被修补、你的教室经费是否充足、住房建在哪里、你的社区如何治安巡逻，以及你要缴纳多少税款。总统无法为你铺路，但你的市议会可以。
在地方选举中，你的一票比在总统大选中更有分量。总统大选的胜负取决于数百万选民的投票，而地方选举往往仅由几百票之差决定胜负。此外，地方选举的投票率通常不到20%，这意味着每一位真正去投票的人，对整个社区都拥有巨大的影响力。
另外，地方官员往往会晋升到更高的政府职位。因此，地方选举中的每一票，都在帮助决定谁将来会成为你所在州议会乃至国会的成员。
尽管地方选举中的职位和候选人并不那么光鲜亮丽，但地方选举是民主的基石。对于那些希望政府能够真正反映自己社区意愿的人来说，最好的起点就是参与离家最近的地方选举投票。