Asides

If You Wait Until Election Day to Vote, You’re Already Too Late | The Nation

Aside GDaniels Civil Rights

The election has already started. Make a plan and vote early.

“Stanford Law School professor Nate Persily put it this way: ‘In all likelihood, half a million mail ballots will go uncounted in this election due to lateness, missing signatures, signature mismatches, and other problems. We need to make sure that number does not grow to a million votes lost.’”

Source: If You Wait Until Election Day to Vote, You’re Already Too Late | The Nation

Early Voting and Mail-In Ballots in 2020

Aside GDaniels voter registration, Voting Rights

 

North Carolina voters will receive mail-in ballots tomorrow, 9/4.  Voters in the crucial battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina will begin early voting (EV) in two weeks. This article was published in July 2020 and has good information on when early voting and mail-in voting starts this election cycle.  #Vote

Source: Who Will Win 2020 Election? First Votes Cast in Six Weeks – Bloomberg

Early Voting_Civilrightstoday.org_Blogpost_09_02_2020

Aside GDaniels Civil Rights

So let’s recap: By now, you are registered to vote and registered all of your friends, family, coworkers, and frenemies. You completed the Census and encouraged everyone else to do so. Now, you are ready to plan your voting experience. Let’s discuss the early voting process.

For people who prefer to vote in person, early voting (EV) is a viable option. Most states have the EV option, which ranges from 4 to 45 days depending on where you live. As I noted in a previous post, EV starts 9/18 in Minnesota and South Dakota.  In Virginia, New Jersey, Michigan, and Wisconsin EV will begin on Saturday, September 19, 2020. 

There are a few reasons to consider EV. With the large scale distrust of the postal service, (we’ll talk about vote by mail next week), casting a ballot on a machine is appealing to a large percentage of Americans. Moreover, the EV option should cut wait time on 11/3. Nonetheless, prepare yourself to have to wait to cast your EV ballot. Bring reading materials, a chair, water, an umbrella, etc. Election officials are anticipating high voter turnout. We saw extremely long lines on election day during the primary season. We can expect more lines regardless of how you cast your in-person ballot. You can find EV locations and hours here.

Finally, if you choose to vote in-person adhere to public safety protocols. Wear a mask and social distance from others. Be Safe and VOTE!

Complete the Census_Civilrightstoday.org Blogpost_08262020

Aside GDaniels Civil Rights

While Census Day was April 1st, it marked the beginning not the end of the count. The Trump administration has moved up the deadline for the Census count to September 30th. Congress can act to change the date to give more time for an accurate count. After all, we are in the midst of a pandemic.

The Census is vitally important to communities of color. The Census count determines the number of representatives that each state will have in Congress. Additionally, communities of color are usually under counted. When this happens, those communities don’t have enough schools, hospital beds or other important services.

You can complete the Census for your household here: https://2020census.gov/en.html You can learn more about the deadlines and efforts to persuade Congress to act here. contact Congress and tell them to extend the deadline here. You can read an article on how important the Census is to our communities here.