Easy Steps to Ensure Your Vote Is Counted

How can you be sure that you will be able to vote? How can you be sure that your vote will be counted?

Before you go to vote, you can take these steps:

Make sure you have proper identification. Check on this website to see what your state accepts for identification. Alternatively the League of Women Voters provides a wealth of information on state identification requirements, in addition to other important information about voting at this website. Some states require that you bring your voter registration card. Other documents accepted for identification are current valid photo identification cards, citizenship papers, a utility bill with your name and address, your social security card, public assistance identification, or your Medicare card.

Write down the 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) hot line, and perhaps the phone number of your local presidential campaign office or precinct chairperson in case you need to contact them for help.

You may want to confirm that you are a registered voter. You can check the nonpartisan website of the National Association of Secretaries of State. Choose your state and you will go to your state website where you can check your voter registration. (Or call the 1-866-OUR-VOTE hot line.) If you are not on the voters' registration list but believe that you have registered, complain to the county election office, take notes, and call the hot line number for assistance.

Study a sample ballot and read the instructions on voting in your state. If you are going to vote on constitutional amendments, which are often written in legalese, make sure you know what they mean. The League of Women Voters provides a list of constitutional amendments for each state with an analysis of the amendments so the voters can understand what they mean. Go to their website ; there are four boxes at the top, click on the box on the right that reads "On Your Ballot." Constitutional amendments, if any, are listed and explained.

Vote early if this is allowed in your state. You can check on this website to find out if and when your state allows early voting. There are links on this site to state websites that either identify locations for early voting or provide information on how to contact the state office election office. When you vote early, you avoid the crowds at the polling places. In addition, there might be some reason, such as a child's illness or your illness, that would prevent you from voting on election day.

If you are voting on election day, November 4, check with your county or your party's campaign office to be sure that you know the correct election site for your precinct. Alternatively, the League of Women Voters provides a polling place finder. All you have to do is enter your address, and you will be taken to a page that indicates the address of your polling place and also includes a map indicating its exact location. Or you can go to this website, which also provides links to polling places by state.

If you do not have any way to get to the polls, many state Republican and Democratic parties will provide transportation.

Do not listen to rumors (whether by phone, E-mail, or in person) about when to vote, where to vote, or whom to vote for. Get good information!

If you are employed, arrange with your employer before November 4 for time off from work to go and vote. You may want to leave work mid-afternoon so that you can stay as long as necessary. Remember, by law, employers must give you "adequate" time off from work to vote. If your voting needs are not reasonably met by your employer, call 1-866-OUR-VOTE for help.

If your state allows "straight ticket" voting, decide whether you want to do this. If you think that you want to vote "straight ticket" find out whether or not there are problems voting "straight ticket" in your state. (Perhaps talk with your party precinct chairperson for more information.) In North Carolina, for example, even if you vote "straight ticket," you have to vote for your presidential candidate separately. In some other states (especially using computerized voting) it is possible that voting "straight ticket" and then selecting your presidential candidate may actually undo your vote for president. Problems such as this are more common with computer voting systems.

Possible solutions to the potential problems of "straight ticket" voting are
One solution: do not vote a "straight ticket". Vote for each candidate individually.
Another solution: Whether or not you choose to vote "straight ticket," plan ahead to check your ballot very carefully before you finish voting to be sure that you actually have selected the desired candidates.

When you go to vote:

To avoid long lines, take advantage of the early voting option if it is available in your state.

Take your identification with you: your voter's registration card, your driver's license or other official picture identification, and the other documents that you gathered together earlier.

Take your list of phone numbers (hot line and campaign headquarters) and some extra paper for taking notes, if necessary.

If you vote on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4, 2008, go in the middle of the morning or middle of the afternoon if you can to avoid long lines.

Take your cell phone and small camera.

Go prepared to stay as long as necessary in order to vote! (Eat a good meal, take a bathroom break, and bring a good book.)

Do not wear political campaign clothing or political party identification into the election site. That is considered "electioneering" and is not allowed in the immediate vicinity of an election site.

Do not carry political information in the open. It is fine to carry printed material in your purse, pocket, or wallet and refer to it as you vote. For instance, if you have to vote on any constitutional amendments, you might want to bring a list of them with you on which you have already written your voting choice.

SOURCES OF HELP:

Election Protection Coalition: Hotline 1-866-OUR-VOTE, 1-866-687-8683. They also have a website. They can give advice and assistance before election day and on election day. If necessary they can get lawyers into polling places and/or in front of judges in real time, as the election progresses.

League of Women Voters of the United States website for ballot & polling place information. Their website on November 4 will have hot line numbers and an electronic feedback form for any voters who experience trouble at the polls.

Your local precinct chairperson and your local presidential campaign office.

Comments

[BillCarson]

Also, here's some useful voting information on Obama's website:

Find Your State voting Information: http://www.barackobama.com/voters/
Report any voting problems: http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/vpcreport
For lawyers, volunteer: http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/vpcvol2

[ValereP]

How appalling that the number-one most fundamental right of U.S. citizens has NOT been ensured.
The U.S. electorial process has deteriorated into something so convoluted, inconsistent, and corrupted that even extraordinary determination and precise attention to details provides little assurance of a representative outcome. Why are the current gate-keepers of democracy so complacent, and yet so persistent, in developing and defending this unreliable maze of registration, voting, and counting procedures? At first glance, one might conclude that Mickey Mouse has taken over; however, it 's almost certain to be more strategic behind the thinly projected staging. Systemic "slack" is an irresponsible excuse for maintaining the bias against those who are already marginalized and disenfranchised. And the rest of the world IS watching...

[mmgbizgirl]

Just spoke with the Election Protection Coalition: Hotline 1-866-OUR-VOTE, 1-866-687-868.

The volunteer I spoke with couldn't tell me why voters cannot verify their votes. DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW AMERICAN VOTERS CAN VERIFY THEIR VOTE IN THIS ELECTION?

[BillCarson]

How do you mean "verify their vote?"

Are you talking about Electronic voting machines with a "voter verified paper trail" or are you asking "how do you verify that your vote was actually counted by the election officials"?

Both are good questions. (And I don't have the answers either)

[mmgbizgirl]

This post should be kept front and center on Huff Post because everyone should know how to confirm their vote after the election. If every voter verified their vote, we'd weed out where the fraud is happening.

[dochockey]

For every voter that is tired of the political circus that has been shoved down our throats for the last eight years,do not skip voting because of apathy.Even if it seems that the system ignores your vote,one vote can literally change the face of the planet.Here are a few examples of how one vote has affected an outcome to a great degree.In 1645,ONE VOTE gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.In 1845,just ONE VOTE brought Texas into the Union.In 1868,ONE VOTE saved Andrew Johnson from impeachment.In 1876,just ONE VOTE made Rutherford B.Hayes President of the United Staes.In 1890,by a ONE VOTE margin,Idaho became a state.Finally,in 1923,ONE VOTE gave Adolph Hitler leadership of the Nazi Party.Please,do not be the one uncast vote that brings another four years of chaos to a country that is currently staggering under the failed policy of an illegitimate government that is run by a group of greedy socialists.Peace be unto you.

[reginavarolli]

We need election monitors in this country. As we don't have any, thanks, Mary, for sharing these tips with us so we can be our own election monitors. I've pointed my own readers at Political Sagacity to your article, as I believe it should be distributed far and wide. Thank you!

[elZaphod]

Announced yesterday- Georgia to take disenfranchisement to the extreme:

http://snowedinbunker.blogspot.com/2008/10/georgia-to-dunk-voters-heads-in-ink.html

[ebanks84]

ASK FOR A PAPER BALLOT TO BE SURE. DON'T TRUST ANY OF THE VOTING MACHINES. IT IS YOUR RIGHT (BY LAW) TO HAVE A PAPER BALLOT IF YOU REQUEST ONE.

[llisa]

Good to know. Seems like this ought to be posted somewhere in every polling place, doesn't it?

[MsMike]

We all need to be aware of problems with voting, especially in our own state. All states are different in the amount (if any), the timing, and the nature of purging of the voter registration lists. And states very in the method of voting (from paper ballot to computer screen). If we know what the potential problems are, we can call for help ahead of time. If we encounter a problem when voting, we can take notes, take pictures, and call the hotline for help. The hotline # 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) is the one to call now for information and advice, or on election day for assistance if your right to vote is in jeopardy.

[clover2]

There's more news of electronic machines flipping the vote--from Obama to McCain. Earlier news of this was reported in the West Virginia Gazette. Now there are reports of the same thing happening in Tennessee. A radio host has suggested that voters who experience this VIDEO THIS EVENT if they can with their cell phones. This vote flipping needs to be documented put on internet and sent to the major news organizations.

[DaveC19]

Also make them aware of the dirty tricks by the GOP:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23638322/block_the_vote

[NationalTreasure]

e-mail this link to all of your friends and family and then get out and volunteer and vote

[intelliwoman]

Unfortunately I live in a state without early voting (PA), my employer expects me to be on the job at 9 and to stay until 5, Iand have a 1.5 hour commute each way

I will be at my polling place at 6:00 am The polls open at 7:00 I cannot wait past 7:30, I have to catch a train, and I'm sorry, but I won't stand in line for hours after work I've also heard that republican poll workers (I live in a heavily republican district of suburban Philadelphia) have been trained to challenge EVERY VOTER THEY CAN, ask for ID, take longer to move voters along, in the hopes that the lines will be so long that many people just can't stay

This country needs to make Election Day a federal holiday, and/or make early voter available to everyone in all 50 states

[MsMike]

Your employer is legally required to allow you adequate time to vote. Please call Call the hotline # 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) for advice on how to ensure that your right to vote is protected.