AARP Idaho: Get a Treat, Not a Trick on Election Day - Get the Facts

Whether Campaign Messages are Scary or Sweet, Halloween Weekend is Prime Time to Find out Candidate's Positions

BOISE, Idaho, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Halloween is coming, but Idaho voters may not see many costumes that rival some of the scary political ads landing in households across the state.  This coming Halloween weekend, AARP has a simple message for Idaho voters: Make sure you get a treat, not a trick on Election Day by getting the facts first.  The Association is urging Idahoans of all ages to take the time over the last weekend before November 2nd to learn the candidates' positions on critical state and federal issues before hitting the polls and has a website to help voters do just that: www.aarp.org/yourvote.

AARP recently released an "over 50/under 50" analysis of Idaho voting trends, finding voters age 50 and older could account for up to two-thirds of all votes cast in Idaho this year.  While the 50+ age group will likely determine who gets elected and who doesn't, AARP's efforts are aimed at helping voters of all ages get the facts before they vote. 

"When it comes to campaign ads, all Idaho voters should take the time to get a treat not a trick by simply getting the facts first on where candidates stand," said Jim Wordelman, State Director for AARP in Idaho.  "Election Day can be scarier than any Halloween costume when you don't know the candidate's positions – we're working to help voters cut through the campaign clutter to make the choices that are right for them."

AARP's voter education website features the 2010 AARP Idaho "Straight from the Member" State Voter Guides, which asked every candidate for Governor, Lt. Governor, and State Legislature to provide voters with their positions on issues critical to the 50+, including the state budget and where they stand on Idaho's new "conscience law" which allows health care professionals to deny living wills and advance directives.  The site also has "In Their Own Words" voter guides for Idaho's Congressional races, stating the candidates' positions on issues like the future of Social Security, access to doctors for Medicare beneficiaries, and how the candidates will help older workers get back to work.

AARP is conducting Idaho's largest voter education effort to help its members, with on-the-ground outreach efforts in every legislative and Congressional district to help the 50+ and the public get the facts and learn the candidate's positions on key issues, taking the efforts on-line and on-air, with a statewide paid media campaign promoting the voter guides.  

The Association is reminding all Idahoans of a new state voter ID law requiring people to bring photo ID with them to polling places (acceptable types of ID: Idaho driver's license, photo ID card, passport, federal photo ID card,  tribal photo ID card, or a current student photo ID from an Idaho high school or postsecondary institution).  Under the new law, if someone doesn't have any of these with them at the polls, they can sign a personal-identity affidavit swearing to their identity under penalty of perjury, a felony.

AARP is Idaho's largest membership organization with 180,000 members.

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SOURCE AARP Idaho