TUESDAY, November 4th, Polls open from 6 am to 7 pm. We are looking forward to a historic and potentially glorious election day, but with a record number of voters, there may be a few problems. Some thoughts:
- Get the job done, but stay cool.
- Make sure that you are registered and you know where you vote – check with the State Board of Elections. UPDATE: you can also get polling place location information using your phone -send a text message to 69866 (shortcode) – Enter “pp” your street address and zip code (ex: pp 1234 brown 22308). You will the address and a map to your polling place.
- Once you get to the polls, VOTE. If you forget your ID, you can still vote by signing an affirmation (or, in certain cases, by filling out a provisional ballot). But you can avoid hassles by bringing your drivers license, voter ID, or other acceptable picture ID. See List of acceptable IDs.
- Take off your Obama button or turn your t-shirt inside out when you get within the 40-foot no campaigning line. (Some Democratic committees are loaning shirts to wear over campaign clothes.) We can argue constitutional issues later, but no need to delay voters by fighting about it now.
- Yes, if you are in line by 7 pm, you can still vote, but don’t risk it – best to vote late morning or early afternoon and don’t wait until the last minute. (Don’t count on the polls staying open for one second after 7 pm.)
- If there are long lines, be patient – imagine how long four years of McBush/Palin would be.
- Read up on any local bond issues or the like in advance or while in line – we don’t want voters spending time in the voting booth trying to figure out these issues.
- No videos please. Some people think that it is a good idea to video tape people at polling places to document problems, but it seems to me that the most likely effect would be to intimidate voters.
- For additional questions, you can check the SBE Voter Rights and Responsibilities site. To check on the latest lies intended to suppress turnout, you can go to the Obama campaign’s Vote for Change site. (This is a voter protection version of Obama’s excellent rumor-control Fight the Smears site.)
- If you have any problems, e.g., if someone is interfering with you on the way to the polls, or you are not on the voter list, or they won’t let you vote, the Democratic Party has lawyers available to help. You can: (A) Check with your local Democratic pollworker, (B) Call the Obama Voter Protection Hotline at 1-877-582-6226 or the Democratic State Party office at 1-800-322-1144, or (3) Contact the Obama campaign’s Virginia Election Center.
To volunteer, contact the Obama campaign or your local Democratic Committee. Yes We Can!