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Check NOW to be sure you are registered to vote even if you have been voting all your life with no problems.
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Here's why.
New state-wide voter databases are being set up, and they are comparing voter registration information
with other files such as social security, motor vehicle registration, etc. Each of these systems
requires data entry, and if someone makes a typo, a perfectly eligible voter can be eliminated from voter
rolls because something doesn't match.
Also, some states are requiring that data match exactly so that if in one place you use your middle initial and in another
place you don't, you may find your voter registration disqualified even if you
are perfectly eligible to vote.
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All of that is why you need to check your voter registration NOW. If there is a problem, you need time
to correct it.
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Here's how to check.
A) Call your local/County Department of Elections and ask them to check to make sure you are registered. Write down the date and time of your call and the name of the person you speak with. Bring this information with you to the polls just in case.
B) In many states, you can also find out if you are registered by going to your state's Secretary of State website. It is good to confirm what you have been told by your local/County elections department in this way. However, don't make this a substitute for doing A) above. On Election Day, it is your local/County poll list that will be used to determine whether or not you are registered and can vote.
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| 2.
If you vote on a touchscreen voting machine, demand that your polling place have emergency paper ballots that can be used when machines malfunction (and hopefully even when lines are too long).
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The people to call about this issue are your State Secretary of State or State Board of Elections AND
your local/county Department of Elections. Note: Emergency paper ballots are not the same as
provisional ballots. Emergency paper ballots are regular ballots that are counted immediately like
voting machine ballots.
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3. Know where your polling place is.
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Many people are disenfranchised simply because they vote or try to vote at the wrong polling place (that
can even be the wrong table if one polling place has different tables for different precincts). You
should be able to find your polling place online at your state's Secretary of State website or your
County Department of Elections website. You can also find out through the League of Women Voters
website, www.vote411.org. If not, call your local/County Department of Elections and ask. (If there is
more than one set of tables at your poll, ask a poll worker which table is your precinct before you line
up.)
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4. Learn what your county and state require re Voter ID, and be sure to have it with you. If you have government-issued photo ID, bring it with you to the polls just in case.
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Sometimes poll workers don't know the kind of ID that is required so it's best to have ID that is most
likely to be acceptable to anyone anywhere.
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5. Know your rights when you go to vote.
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A) If voting machines at your polling place have broken down or failed to start up, request an emergency
paper ballot to vote. You should not have to "go away and come back later" - many working people can't
do that.
B) If you registered to vote but your name does not show up on the list of registered voters, ask poll
workers to check supplemental voting lists and/or call their county board of elections. Remember, no
matter what, you have the right to ask for and receive a provisional ballot to cast your vote.
C) Be sure to have the 1-866-OURVOTE hotline number with you at the polls so
that you can call for help if your voting rights are being denied.
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6. Get all the candidate information you can before you vote so that you can elect candidates you really want in office.
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While you can get a lot of information (not all of it reliable) about Presidential candidates, it can be
much harder to find out about other candidates running for office. Here are some websites that are
trying to provide you with extensive non-biased candidate information:
| | www.vote411.org/candidateinfo.php (League of Women Voters) |
| | www.vote-smart.org (a bipartisan group of volunteers who compile information about candidates' voting records, etc.) |
There are many other sources for candidate information, but most have a political bias. That's not
necessarily bad, but always determine whether your information source is trustworthy. That goes for all
media.
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7. Check out one or more of the election integrity websites listed near the bottom of this page and sign up for their e-mail newsletters/alerts.
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Their e-mails can keep you informed of changes that could put your vote at risk and what you need to do
to protect your vote.
Also, consider giving 10% of what you donate to a candidate to one of the election integrity
organizations that are working hard to insure that every eligible citizen can cast her/his vote and
that all of our votes will be counted correctly.
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8. Become a poll worker or poll watcher.
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There is a critical poll worker shortage in the U.S., and volunteers are needed in most areas. Contact
your County/local Department of Elections. If you can't work a full day as a poll worker, election
integrity groups would welcome you as a poll watcher for a few hours.
Even if you can't do either, be watchful in your polling place. Is someone being denied her/his right to
vote? Call the national Election Protection hotline, 1-866-OURVOTE, and ask for help.
And remember to be kind and courteous to the poll workers at your polling place. These people work a
loooonnnnng day in support of democracy. And people you treat nicely are more likely to help you resolve
any problems you might encounter.
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9. Vote! And get as many of your family members and friends to vote as possible.
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Make it a social event! Go out for dinner or a cup of coffee afterward. One of the reasons fewer people
vote is because voting has become less of a social/group experience.
It is again important this year that your candidate win by a landslide or at least a large
majority. There have been too many elections recently in which the real winner was in doubt. If a
candidate is elected by a large majority, it is exceedingly difficult for any machine malfunctions or
vote tampering to change the final result.
And you can make that landslide happen for your candidate. Vote and get your friends to vote too. It's
all about democracy!
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10. Start working NOW to insure that in 2010 all votes are cast on a voter-verified paper ballot that can be recounted.
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Most decisions about voting equipment, voter ID, voter registration laws, etc. are determined months and
years before Election Day. I urge you to call your Congressperson NOW in support of H.R. 2894, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2009, authored by Rush Holt, NJ, U.S. House. It calls for voter-verified paper ballots and random audits of all election results.
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City, county, and state officials and judges often impact your life in ways that are much more immediate and easier to see and feel (in your daily life and in your pocketbook) than officials you elect to federal offices.