As a child, I heard countless times “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain about the way the country is going,” as my parents spoke to the television when a talking head was espousing some negative view or to a family member who hadn’t taken the time to fulfill their democratic duty. Being an avid complainer in my youth (and, let’s be honest, to this day), my parents’ voting tagline was a sound argument to me. If you want to complain about the problems, you have to first do your part.

As many head back to work and the routine of their daily lives following Hurricane Sandy, some are asking about the impact of this deadly storm on next week’s elections.  We have pulled together a quick primer on what steps elections officials in some of the affected states are taking to help voters.  Overall, we are pleased that many states are extending deadlines in an effort to mitigate the effect of the hurricane and its aftermath on the upcoming election.