Voting Guides

[ysabetwordsmith]

Midterm elections are coming up. Here are some resources ...

Are you eligible to vote? If yes, are you registered to vote? If no, do that now.


Voting information and ballot peeks based on your location.
Midterm Congressional, State, and Local Elections
Personalized Ballot
Find Your Polling Place

Political Parties and Priorities
Parties and Platforms
Identify Your Priorities
Know the Current Issues
Which Issues Matter the Most to You?
Which Party Is Right for You?
Green Party
The Rent Is Too Damn High Party
Independent Voting

Thematic and general mobilization materials.
Illinois Elections, Candidates & Politics
League of Conservation VotersLeague of Women Voters
NAACP Civic Engagement
Planned Parenthood Voter Guide
Progressive Voters Guide
Project VoteSmart

Rules and guidelines.
A Voter's Guide to Federal Elections
Protection & Advocacy for Voting Access
Illinois Information for Voters

Voter suppression & activism.
Voter Suppression Tactics
How to Fight Voter Suppression in 2018
My Vote, My Right
Voting While Trans
Voting Rights

Pros and Cons of Voting
Benefits of Voting
Why Voting Doesn't Really Work
Other Political Activities Besides Voting


If you need help:
Call the Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).

Normally this is where I say, "Vote your conscience." This year, in light of America's political upheaval, I'm saying, "Please don't saw off the branch we're standing on." Look for candidates who support policies that improve health, happiness, the environment, and other aspects of survival and sanity.

Know yourself. Know the issues. Know the candidates. VOTE.


In the Poetry Fishbowl on November 6, if you vote and post "I voted" under the linkback perk poem, that will earn you an extra verse. If you register to vote, volunteer at a registry, or otherwise participate in election activity before then, pick a linkback and I'll give you a verse.

Comments

[acelightning]

I already voted via mail-in ballot. And may I interest you in this

[chanter1944]

*double checks via WI's official state government site* Yep, eligible and registered. :) I'm one of those people who really enjoys a bustling polling place on a given election day, so I'll be voting come November 6.

Okay ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

What linkback poem would you like a verse in, for checking status?

Check your status!

[mashfanficchick]

It might be a good idea to remind registered folks to double (or triple) check to make sure they’re currently registered to vote, as there’ve been many situations lately—some fair and some very unfair, IMO—in which people who thought they were all set up to vote discovered they had been unregistered. For assorted reasons, I’m hesitant to suggest any particular links, but you can easily google “Am I registered to vote” + [your state] and find the official state-government registration site.

In my case, I just googled “Am I registered to vote” and Google handed me a nice neat list of NY.gov links I might want, one of which took me to NY’s super-simple voter-status checker. Granted, said voter-status checker has ALL kinds of SERIOUS privacy issues surrounding it, but it’s still an important tool to use and have. See again, not cutting off the branch we’re standing on.

Re: Check your status!

[ysabetwordsmith]

It's at the top of the post. Links regarding voter suppression, including deregistration, are toward the bottom.

Re: Check your status!

[mashfanficchick]

Hmm. I didn’t click on all the links (it was late when I saw the post), but I didn’t—and still don’t—see anything that said TO ME (that is, I may be missing something) that people should check their status. That was why I made the suggestion I did. But, as I said, I could be missing something that’s obvious to everyone else.

Re: Check your status!

[ysabetwordsmith]

The top says "Are you registered?" and that's the link pointing to a place that checks your status. If no, the next link goes to where you can read about how to register including links to online registry.

Re: Check your status!

[mashfanficchick]

Ah! I had assumed the “are you registered” button went to information about being registered to vote (like, why you should do it, or whatever). My bad!

On the other hand, I did learn that a) I am still registered to vote, and b) my state is terrifyingly lax with personal info: minimal, often-public info about someone is all you need to pull up their full voter-registration page, including full address(es) AND PARTY AFFILIATION! *shivers* I think after the election, I’ll start calling my elected reps to see if they know about that, and, if so, why they think it’s okay.

[cmcmck]

As you know, I don't have a pigeon in this race, but I'm so glad to see you dong this! :o)

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Somebody has to. And hey, you can always do your own elections when they come up.

[satsuma]

Does donating to campaigns count as election activity? I already got my registration and polling place straightened out so I could vote in the primaries, which limits my options (I used Emily’s list to find localish pro-choice women for my latest round of donations)

If yes, I’d like to see more of Cleaning Achnai's Oven :D

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I have given you one verse for the registration and another for the campaign donation. Go you!

Re: Yes ...

[satsuma]

Thanks!

Voting

[daisiesrockalot]

I voted. Could I please get a verse in growing green, growing gold?

Re: Voting

[ysabetwordsmith]

Your new verse is up!

[lone_cat]

No early voting in KY, but I did make GOTV calls.

Okay ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Which open epic would you like a verse in?

Re: Okay ...

[lone_cat]

"Only If It Is Embraced". If that was an oops for linkback, then "Cleaning Achnai's Oven".

Re: Okay ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Yes, that should have said "linkback," sorry. I have added a verse to "Cleaning Achnai's Oven."