I help put this together for the DCCC blog today, but there’s no harm in posting it here too. In fact, the more people who see this information tomorrow the better:
There’s been a ton of media coverage about Republican attempts to suppress voter turnout and challenge the rights of ordinary working Americans (i.e. the GOP’s non-base) to exercise their most basic right tomorrow. As a public service, we thought we’d pull together some information to help vote tomorrow — and, to steal a phrase, to actually make a federal case about it if you need to.
The New York Times put together a nice briefing today on its editorial page about what you should know and do in order to vote successfully tomorrow. The key points:
- Know where to go.
- Bring proper ID.
- Review the sample ballot before voting.
- Check your ballot before finalizing your vote.
- Know your rights concerning provisional ballots.
- Know where to turn for help.
- Be prepared for long lines.
Your first stops should be the Mypollingplace.com, where you can locate where you should vote, and the comprehensive Election Protection site which offers a ton of resources and answers lots of questions about your rights tomorrow. Make sure to read the state-by-state Voters’ Bill of Rights to be up-to-date on what your rights are.
The most important thing for voting? Remember to bring I.D. to the polls.
If you want more information, there are a number of good blogs out there tracking election “irregularities” and voter suppression news: link and link.
An Election Day hotline (1-866-OUR VOTE) will offer immediate, legal assistance to voters during the early voting period and on Election Day. That’s 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683). Program those two numbers into your cell phone when you go vote tomorrow. Call from your polling place if you have trouble or if you see anything suspicious.
Another important number to know is the Voter Alert Line: 1-866-MYVOTE1, which a consortium of organizations (including Common Cause and NBC News) has set up to track election problems nationwide. It will connect you to local election officials if you run into problems, as well as track the geographic distribution of all calls throughout the day in order to detect emerging trouble spots.
Lastly, once you’ve called the other numbers above and registered your problem, you can call the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931 to report any discriminatory practices.
A Quick and Dirty Phone Number Summary:
1-866-OUR-VOTE for immediate legal assistance
1-866-MYVOTE1 to report problems
Here’s the bottom line:
Vote. Just vote. Over the last 200-odd years, millions of soldiers have died to protect your right to vote. Don’t waste that. Don’t let anyone-not even Tom Delay and Karl Rove-stop you from voting tomorrow. Don’t leave your polling place without casting a ballot for the candidate you desire. It will be the most important thing you do this year.
Recent Comments