Be Prepared: Voting Tips For Election Day

October 29, 2008

Advancement Project Embarks on 9 City Voter Education Media Tour

With Election Day less than a week a way, Advancement Project is working fast and furiously to prepare voters in advance. Over the past two days, Advancement Project’s senior attorneys have hit the airwaves on 20 local morning television and 30 radio shows in: Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Our messages to the voters in each of these cities are:

Make a Plan

Voters need to “check themselves.” Well before Election Day contact your local county board of elections to verify your voting status. If you have this information check out www.justvote08.org.

Make sure that your polling place has not changed. Advancement Project’s site www.justvote08.org allows you to identify your polling place.

Many states require photo identification to vote. Err on the side of caution and be sure to have a photo id with you when you show up at your polling place. www.justvote08.org provides id requirements for all 50 states.

Party At the Polls

All indications are that there will be unprecedented voter turnout on November 4, 2008. This election will undoubtedly prove to be the greatest collective exercise in democratic participation in our Nation’s history, so make the most of this celebration and party at the polls.

What do we mean party at the polls? Well attire is most important. Be prepared to party by dressing comfortably, so ladies no 4 inch heels. If it’s really cold or really hot where you live, make sure you dress appropriately.

A party just isn’t a party without food, so pack some of your favorite things to eat and drink.

Good conversation is a main ingredient for a successful party, so get to know people in your community. Talk to them while you are in line waiting to let your voice be heard and find out why they are participating in this historic election.

Problems at the Polls

If you show up on Election Day and you are told that your name isn’t on the poll book, your first course of action should NOT be to accept a provisional ballot from the poll worker.

Ask the poll worker to please contact the election office to verify your voting status. If they refuse to do it you should call. In many instances the only problem may be that you are in the wrong polling place. Many states require that in order for a provisional ballot to be counted it MUST be cast in the correct polling place, so if you take that provisional ballot as your first course of action and you are in the wrong polling place it might not count.

You can also call 866-OURVOTE if you are having any problems at your polling place on Election Day

Voter Intimidation

Intimidating voters takes many forms from videotaping or asking inappropriate questions of voters in a polling place, to placing heavily armed police outside poll sites, and distributing threatening flyers announcing the penalties for voting fraud. The intention is to make voting actually or apparently risky in order to keep people away from the polls. Voter intimidation is illegal under federal law, and many states' laws as well.

Do not let anyone intimidate you from casting your ballot. If you or anyone you know experiences any form of intimidation on Election Day call 866-OURVOTE.

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