There's another important consideration with using mailed-out ballots. States have varying rules that direct local election officials to reject ballot-return envelopes. Just as in-person voters have to show their ID or sign in before getting a ballot, the ballot-return envelope has to be checked in. Local officials will compare the voter's signature to the signature in their voter registration file. That's why you want to make sure your signature on file is current. Other technicalities can disqualify ballots, depending on the answers to questions like: Was it returned on time? Was it dated properly? Was it signed properly? Did it have a postmark? A few red states require the envelope to be signed by a witness. New York state rejects envelopes that are taped shut.
If all of this sounds like it is too much, then don't vote via a mailed-out ballot. Decide how you want to vote this fall. Which choice is best: using a mailed-out ballot, an early in-person voting site or Election Day voting? If you want to vote from home, think about how you will get that ballot and how you will return it.
Making a Plan, But Having a Backup
This guide urges voters to start making a plan now. Not everything has to be done at once or at the last minute. The general election is really a season -- not a single day. It stretches over months leading up to the close of voting on November 3.
Try to ignore the partisan noise. Despite President Trump's tweets that the election should be delayed, that date is set by Congress -- not him. Even if Congress moved it, which is unlikely, his term expires on January 20, 2021, according to the U.S. Constitution. States and counties run America's elections, not the White House.
More concretely, many experts and activists are urging voters to think ahead. One suggestion, from Mimi Kennedy, a longtime poll worker in Los Angeles and board member at Progressive Democrats of America, is to keep it simple and calendarize your voting plan. Kennedy created a voters' calendar to help you plan your own schedule. In general, her voting guide advises: August is "Check Your Registration Month." September is "Order Your Mail Ballot Month." October is "Vote Your Mail Ballot Month." Or plan to vote at an early voting location. Think of Election Day voting as your last resort. In the spring and summer primaries, early voting was widely overlooked.
The idea is to act early and avoid congestion at Election Day polls, especially if Congress does not appropriate more funds to help states and counties this fall.
But what if something goes wrong somewhere in these steps? If you registered and checked that your registration information is current, you should have no problem voting in person. If you've applied for a mailed-out ballot in a state expanding that voting option for the first time in 2020, be ready to pivot and to vote in person, hopefully at an early voting site, if something goes wrong.
In 2020's primaries, millions of people successfully voted via mailed-out ballots for the first time. But states that did not have histories of widespread voting by mail still had problems. Many voters did not get their ballot. Or it arrived days ahead of the primary or the day before. Some voters didn't know what to do.
What happened then? Some voters didn't vote. Some voters mailed their ballot and went to polls to vote again. They wanted to be sure that they would cast a ballot that would count. Some took their ballot package to the polls, hoping to exchange it for a regular ballot. Some poll workers knew what to do. Others didn't. This snafu was not widely seen beforehand in some states, especially in the east. Why not? They had little voting from home before COVID-19. Their poll worker training materials barely discussed this scenario.
What's the solution for voters? Start with realizing that more responsibility comes with using a mailed-out ballot. Knowing what to do, including steps that you might need to take to vote in person, is part of this. Some states have a so-called surrender rule, where you can exchange your mailed-out ballot package for a regular ballot at a polling place. Other states don't have it -- and will require that voters use what is called a provisional ballot. Those ballots are set aside and counted after your voter registration information is later verified by local officials. (Officials are supposed to contact voters if there's a problem to fix it, but that doesn't always happen.)
What's the best advice for this fall? If you wanted to vote from home but have not received your ballot by October 27, which is a week before November 3's Election Day, shift gears. Find your county's early voting sites on its website. Go there and vote. Take your mailed-out ballot package with you, if you have it, along with your state-issued photo ID. If you don't have your ballot, bring the ID. Ask to vote with a regular ballot. Don't wait until November 3.
Why are we suggesting that voters pivot a week before Election Day, when senior statewide officials who have run vote-by-mail elections say that the local mail delivery should not take any longer than three or four days to return ballots? Early voting centers are likely to be less busy, compared to Election Day (especially if it's not the last day of early voting). The earlier voters go, the more likely they are to have the time to sort out any issue while they are there.
If your voter registration information is current and you have the required ID with you, you'll get a ballot that will be counted -- even if it's a provisional. That's why it is crucial to get started by checking your registration information starting on August 5 -- the date after which federal law bars any state from taking voters off their rolls. (Voters can be added until registration ends.)
For now, the most important thing is to be registered, ensure that your voter information is current, and decide how you want to vote in the fall -- by mail or in person. Then, be aware of your state's process to vote from home. Will they send you an application automatically, or do you have to apply for it on your own?
No matter what, the process starts with being a registered voter with an updated voter file. Make a plan, act early, and pivot if need be, but don't be discouraged by media predictions of electoral meltdowns or by partisan noise. Voting this fall requires some forethought. But it is not hard to cast a ballot that will count, including overcoming annoying impediments, even in a pandemic.
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