The last time I tried writing about voting, it led to the first and (so far) last time I ever deleted a post on this blog.

I called it “Vote or whatever” and the point I was trying to make was that so many people are telling you what to do, you should feel free to ignore everyone and do what you wanted. It came across as kind of dismissive of the privilege of voting and I heard about it from a number of readers, including my mom.

“Your grandfather fought in a war overseas to protect this country and your rights,” she wrote, before explaining how stupid I sounded in my attempt to be anything but. She was right and rather than try to save the patient, I pulled the plug.

With that in mind, here’s my second attempt at a voting post with hopefully better results and maybe a better job of reaching my target audience.

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I can’t speak intelligently on what it looks like in other states, but living in one of the swingiest swing states means we are getting buried in communication from presidential and senate candidates. Between TV, online, social media, mailers and text messages, I hear more from the Trump, Harris, Baldwin and Hovde campaigns in a day than I do from any four people I know.

It’s gotten so bad, I’m practically elated when I get an ad for hair loss, erectile dysfunction or “The Real WHATEVER of WHEREVER” television show.

Given all of that, I’m stunned that there exists such a thing as an “undecided presidential voter” left anywhere in the country, with the possible exception of anyone who was just awakened from a four-year coma on Sunday afternoon.

That said, when I went to vote in the primary, I found myself flummoxed on at least one-third of the ballot. I had no idea which person would make for a good state rep, a solid judge, a reputable school board member or good county board member. I also found myself trying to navigate through at least two double-negative statements in each of the advisory ballot initiatives I was asked to assess.

I know that this year, the school is asking for a bond referendum, and although I normally approve every dime a school district wants, I can’t tell you exactly where that money is going.

A crucial reason for this lack of knowledge is a lack of strong, local media outlets that provide critical coverage of these races. As much as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN and other national media outlets cover every minute of the national races, the local media in so many places either are understaffed or have shuttered their operations.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina have dug into a phenomenon they dubbed “news deserts.” This is defined as “a community, either rural or urban, with limited access to the sort of credible and comprehensive news and information that feeds democracy at the grassroots level.”

The researchers have determined that more than 250 counties in the country are without a single local newspaper while half of the counties in the country are served by a single local newspaper, which is usually a weekly. Given what I’ve seen of these kinds of publications, they are almost always understaffed and rarely interested or capable of doing the kinds of critical political coverage that will inform their readers.

With all of that in mind, it becomes increasingly difficult to make an intelligent decision on those down-ballot, local-issue choices we face. So here is the exercise I would suggest for any media students who might be lukewarm on voting.

First, go vote. Even if you are in a solidly red or solidly blue state, where you might feel your vote doesn’t matter, it’s a worthy exercise. I always joke that at least I’m undoing the vote of the dumbest person I know, but it means more than that to be sure.

While you are in that booth, look at the number of races on which you feel uninformed or under-informed. What level does that start at for you? Is it the national races, the statewide races or the local races? What about any ballot initiatives? How much do you know about them and can you translate them? (Or, if you see fit, you can try to learn all this before you vote so you can make better choices, but that isn’t always easy and can sometimes feel like a bridge too far in the digital information age.)

Once you cast your ballot and get your “I VOTED” sticker, go see what your local media outlets have run over the past few weeks or months. Also, look through the media outlets you traditionally use, which could be anything from YouTube to TikTok. Was there anything out there that could have helped you learn more? Or do you maybe need a different media diet?

Finally, consider what it is you could bring to the table as a media practitioner going forward for a community that probably feels even more lost and confused than you are. In so many ways, you can have a significant impact on what people know about things that can strongly impact their local communities.

You might still feel like your vote doesn’t matter, but I hope you will realize that a career in any form of local, fact-based media surely can.