This page has been provided to help readers find correct, up to date information about voting.
Election day is November 3rd, 2020. Here’s a short primer on how to vote!
Make sure you, your friends and family all have the information they need to make their voices here in 2020 and be sure their vote is counted. You have a right to vote.
If you encounter any difficulty, you should call the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-687-8683.
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First, you must register to vote. Click here to check your registration status with Vote.org, “the largest 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan voting registration and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) technology platform in America.”
If you are not registered, you can click Vote Org’s link to register here.
Then, you decide how you will cast your ballot, depending on your state specific options. You might early vote, vote by mail/absentee ballot by mail or by deposit to a drop box or in-person early voting location.
Marc Elias’ Democracy Docket, described on their site as “the leading platform for progressive advocacy and information about voting rights, elections, redistricting and democracy,” notes, “One important rule to be aware of when considering whether to absentee vote is if your state requires that you have a specific reason or “excuse†for absentee voting. States that require you to have a specific reason to VBM use what is called “excuse absentee voting,†while states which let anyone absentee vote have “no-excuse absentee voting.†Every state has its own rules and excuses, and the difference between excuse and no-excuse absentee voting is even more complicated in 2020 due to COVID-19.”
To read more about the key differences between excuse and no-excuse absentee voting, click here.
Find your state rules on absentee excuses here.
Early Voting: In their series “Voting Process Explained,†Democracy Docket writes regarding early voting, “Most states offer some form of early voting. This year many states have expanded early voting options to accommodate the effects of the pandemic.”
Click here to read information about what options your state offers.
There are two forms of early voting: In-person early voting and early absentee voting.
In-person early voting: Click here for information about your state.
Democracy Docket points out that early absentee voting includes vote by mail and in-person. “We will focus on the latter. In-person early absentee voting allows you to bypass the mail process and go directly to a designated election location to receive and cast your absentee—or mail—ballot (reminder that “absentee†and “mail-in†voting are used interchangeably).
Click here to find information on EARLY VOTING.
If you early mail-in/absentee vote, be aware of your state’s deadline. Some states require that your ballot be received by election day. Others that your ballot is not only postmarked by election day, but received a certain number of days after election day. Democracy Docket notes, “This type of vote by mail deadline is known as a postmarked by deadline.”
Click here to get info on absentee early voting deadlines for application and casing your ballot in your state.
In-person voting:
If you vote in person, here is a polling location locator link from Vote.Org.
Problems with voting:
If you experience problems with voting, click here for information on what to do if there are long lines, if you are intimidated or told you are not registered when you are confirmed to be registered, and more.
If you are being intimidated, given false information, harassed, or told you can’t vote even though you are in the correct polling place and are registered to vote, you should call Election Protection at 866-687-8683.
Click here to see what forms of ID your state requires in order to vote.
Further info and how you can help protect the 2020 election:
If you are able, please consider volunteering to work as a poll worker.
To receive Vote.Org’s election reminders so your voice can be heard in every election, sign up here.