7-Step Voter Guide
Over the past couple of weeks, we have shared a little bit about The History of Voting While Black in the United States and How The Ballots We Cast Today Impact Our Tomorrow on the Book Of Melanin. We also shared a tiny confession: we loath the voting process. However, since we understand the sacrifices made for us to be able to exercise our right to vote and since we understand how impactful voting is on our future, we vote anyway. To help us get through what may be a cumbersome process, we’ve developed the following checklist for a successful voting experience.
Make sure that you are registered to vote right now! If you’ve never registered before or simply just need to check your registration status, please visit Vote.gov. You will be able to select you state and register or check your status in less than two minutes.
Mark your calendar in advance! For Presidential, Congressional, and State elections, visit Vote411.org, select your state, and add a reminder in your calendar for all elections scheduled throughout the year. This way you’ll never miss a beat!
Research! Research! Research! We recommend using websites, such as Branch.vote, to conduct your research. You will be able to enter your address, create an account, view your sample ballot, read the profile of each candidate running for office, compare where they stand on policies that matter most to you, such as economy, workers’ rights, education, etc., and you will be able to record your choices. Other sites that we recommend are Ballotopedia.org and Vote411.org. Please note that this step will be the most time consuming. We strongly recommend conducting this research well in advance of election day so that you can spend as much time as needed, with much needed mental breaks of course, to prepare.
Print and bring your research/choices with you to the polls! There’s nothing worse than being surprised by your ballot while casting your vote. We strongly recommend printing your research with clear identifications of which candidate you’d like to vote for on the paper. You’ll be able to use it as a cheat sheet as you cast your ballot.
Vote early when possible! As I’m sure you’ve heard, or witnessed, lines at the polling center can be extremely long. However, those are often election day lines. Doing early voting, which usually starts about 2 weeks before election day, can save you a ton of time. Also, regardless of if it is early voting or election day, we highly recommend getting to the polling center shortly after it opens. This way you can be in and out! Of course, there is also the option of absentee and mail-in ballots, which you can request on Vote.org in less than 2 minutes.
Confirm the location and hours of operation of your designated polling center(s)! Unfortunately, one of the tactics used to prevent people from voting is constantly changing our polling center. For this reason, we recommend visiting Vote.org every time to check the current location and hours of operation of your assigned poling center.
Double check the voter ID requirements in your state! Half of the states will accept a valid driver’s license, state-issued ID cards, military ID cards, or passports. Other states may accept birth certificates, social security cards, bank statements, and utility bills. Most states do not require you to bring your voter registration card, although we recommend either bringing a physical or photographic copy of it just to be safe. Double check your state’s voter ID requirements before Election Day.
And just like that, voting is less daunting and can be completed in seven easy steps. Hopefully, this series on voting in the US was beneficial to you. As always, let us know what you’ve learned, or what we missed, in the comments below!
