"All politics is local." We hear it a lot, but what does it mean?When Tip O'Neill said it he was referring to the need for elected officials to listen to the people who live in their district. Listen to what is important to them and to do what they can to act on it, Great! But here's the thing - Tip O'Neill was a Congressman. He could have provided funding for everything his constituents wanted but if the local government didn't agree, they could stop it.

You've probably heard of Gerrymandering — that's when redistricting is manipulated for political gain. It can change who represents you, the number of party representatives, voting locations, and more. But Gerrymandering isn’t automatic. It doesn’t have to happen. Redistricting does. And the two shouldn’t be confused. Prepare2Vote wants you to know the difference.

…A little later, while we were filling out the registration form, he mentioned something that stuck with me. He said his mom had always told him that no matter what happened in life, voting was important. Listening to him say that made me think about the version of Jermaine his mother must have seen when he was a kid. At some point he had just been her little boy, someone she was raising in this country and hoping would grow up to take part in it, to have a voice in it. Whatever else had happened in his life since then, that was still part of him.

Ali Sabir receives John Lewis Youth Leadership Award from New Jersey’s Lt Governor Tahesha Way.

I remember the first time I heard someone suggest that people are looking for outrage…It’s hurting us. It’s burning bridges, closing doors, and normalizing hate. It’s diminishing our chances of finding common ground, while it’s right there in front of us, if we just put down our swords.

You know the saying “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain?” It’s not true.

People can - and do - always have the right to complain. That’s one of the things that makes a democracy a democracy. But if you don’t vote and your preferred candidate doesn’t win, you may spend the next four years of your life extremely frustrated.