Whomever you vote for this year, remember this:

It's easy to get sucked into the drama of the election but there are some things I wanted to remind you about as you prepare to head to the polls.

1. Make sure your opinion is your own and not your parents, clergyman, friend, neighbor or butchers'. Take the time to do your own research and come to your own conclusion. You just might be surprised by what you learn!

2. Unfortunately, most journalists today include their own opinions and slants about subjects often leaving the facts buried far under the remains of slams and distortions, untruths and opinion. Sometimes it can be hard to decipher what the truth actually is. For this reason, it would behoove you to check a few different resources to make sure you have the full story. Here are two excellent resources to have: factcheck.org and snopes.com factcheck.org was sent to me by L.A. Mama raisingcalifornia

3. Let's talk polls. I find myself checking the polls daily to see where our nation is at. But there are some rules I keep in mind as I do so.

• When checking online polls, make sure they have allowed for a margin or error. If they don't, it should be considered invalid.
• Keep in mind that someone had to pay for the research. Whether it was the republican party, the democratic party or an independent, it's important. This would explain differences from one poll to the next.
• Also keep in mind that the numbers depend on who was being polled. Some areas contain higher (or lower) concentrations of a particular party and the researchers know this.
• If you just registered with a particular party, it will take awhile to catch up to the polls

4. If you're still undecided or want to make sure you're voting where your issues lie take the quiz on this site: change.org This site was sent to me by L.A. Mama raisingcalifornia

*note - When you take the presidential quiz, be sure to click on how the issue is defined. I thought they were self-explanatory but they are not. Also, after the quiz, be sure to click on the "compare" button next to each candidates name for a comprehensive comparison of your views and the candidates. Also, by clicking on the candidates stance, you will be able to see an explanation of their issue in full.

5. Chain emails - Just press the delete button. Chain email is a waste of time as it is almost always untrue. Here are some signs to look for when you receive one per factcheck.org

• The author is anonymous. Practically all e-mails we see fall into this category, and anytime an author is unnamed, the public should be skeptical. If the story were true, why would the author not put his or her name on it?
  
  
• The author is supposedly a famous person. Of course, e-mails that are attributed to legitimate people turn out to be false as well. Those popular messages about a Jay Leno essay and Andy Rooney’s political views are both baloney. And we found that some oft-quoted words attributed to Abraham Lincoln were not his words at all.
  
  
• There’s a reference to a legitimate source that completely contradicts the information in the e-mail. Some e-mails will implore readers to check out the claims, even providing a link to a respected source. We're not sure why some people don't click on the link, but we implore you to do so. Go ahead, take the challenge. See if the information you find actually backs up the e-mail. We've examined three such e-mails in which the back-up material clearly debunks the e-mail itself. One message provided a link to the Tax Foundation, but anyone who followed it would have found an article saying the e-mail's figures were all wrong. Another boasted that Snopes.com had verified the e-mail, but Snopes actually said it was false.
  
  
• The message is riddled with spelling errors. Ask yourself, why should you trust an author who is not only anonymous but partially illiterate?
  
  
• The author just loves using exclamation points. If the author had a truthful point to make, he or she wouldn’t need to put two, three, even five exclamation points after every other sentence. In fact, we're developing another theory here: The more exclamation points used in an e-mail, the less true it actually is. (Ditto for excessive use of capital letters.)
  
  
• The message argues that it is NOT false. This tip comes from Emery, who advises skepticism for any message that says, "This is NOT a hoax!"
  
  
• There’s math involved. Check it. One message that falsely claimed more soldiers died during Bill Clinton’s term than during George W. Bush’s urged, "You do the Math!" We did. It’s wrong.