What You Need to Know About Elections

Learn more about how to exercise your voting rights, resist voter intimidation efforts, and access disability-related accommodations and linguistic communication assist at the polls. For help at the polls, call the non-partisan Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE.

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I need to annals to vote

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States have different voter registration deadlines and requirements, so brand sure you are registered well in advance of Ballot Day. Voter registration deadlines vary and some states permit individuals to register for the first time and cast ballots on Election Day.

What to do

• Check your registration status at Tin I Vote.
• If you lot are not registered to vote, go to vote.gov to find your options. This link will provide data near your registration options, which may include online registration.

I need to notice my polling place

Every country offers options to vote in-person on Election Day, even those that primarily conduct elections past mail.

What to practise

• Find your polling identify or vote eye and its hours of operation.
• Make a plan for Election Solar day: When and where will y'all cast your vote, and how will you lot get at that place?

I'chiliad not certain what to bring to the polls

Your state may require you lot to bring an ID or bring documents to show your residence, peculiarly if yous're voting for the first time. Make sure you're prepared.

What to do

• Learn what materials you'll need to bring with you to the polling place on Election 24-hour interval.

I want to vote before Election Day

Your rights

• If y'all cannot vote in-person on Ballot Day, you lot may be able to vote early or past absentee vote-by-mail election.
• Some states let any voter to vote absentee; others accept stricter requirements.

What to do

• Larn about your options to exercise absentee or early voting in your state.
• Keep in mind that the borderline to request an absentee ballot may be before Election Mean solar day.

What are my general rights on Election Day?

Your rights

• If the polls shut while you lot're still in line, stay in line – you accept the right to vote.
• If yous make a mistake on your ballot, ask for a new 1.
• If the machines are down at your polling place, enquire for a newspaper ballot.
• If you run into any problems or accept questions on Election 24-hour interval, call the Election Protection Hotline:
  • English: 1-866-OUR-VOTE / i-866-687-8683
  • Spanish: i-888-VE-Y-VOTA / ane-888-839-8682
  • Arabic: i-844-YALLA-Us / 1-844-925-5287
  • For Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Urdu, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog, or Vietnamese: one-888-274-8683

The poll worker says my name is not on the list of registered voters

Your rights

• Voters are entitled to a conditional ballot, fifty-fifty if they aren't in the poll book.
• Afterward Election Twenty-four hours, election officials must investigate whether you are qualified to vote and registered. If you are qualified and registered, they will count your provisional election.

What to exercise

• Inquire the poll worker to double check for your proper noun on the list of registered voters. Make sure to spell your name out for the poll worker.
• If your name is not on the list, ask if in that location is a supplemental list of voters.
• If the poll worker withal cannot observe your name, confirm that yous are at the right polling place:
  • Request that the poll workers check a statewide system (if one is available) to see if you are registered to vote at a different polling place.
  • If the poll worker does not have admission to a statewide system, ask them to call the primary election office.
  • You tin likewise phone call 1-866-OUR-VOTE and inquire for help verifying your proper polling identify.
  • If you are registered at a unlike location, in most instances yous will accept to travel to that location to cast a regular ballot.
• If the poll worker yet cannot find your proper noun or if you lot cannot travel to the right polling place, ask for a provisional ballot.

Additional information

• If you lot are turned away or denied a conditional ballot, call the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE or 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (en Español).
• Study your feel to local election officials.

I am a voter with a inability

Your rights

• Nether federal police force, all polling places for federal elections must be fully attainable to older adults and voters with disabilities. Simply allowing curbside voting is not enough to run across Americans with Disabilities Human action (ADA) accessibility requirements.
• In federal elections, every polling place must have at least one voting system that allows voters with disabilities to vote privately and independently. Unremarkably, this is a automobile that tin read the ballot to y'all (for people with vision disabilities or dyslexia), and allow y'all vote past pushing buttons (for people with mobility disabilities).
• Under federal constabulary, voters with disabilities and voters who take difficulty reading or writing English take the correct to receive in-person help at the polls from the person of their pick. This helper cannot be the voter's employer, an amanuensis of the voter's employer, or an amanuensis or officer of the voter's spousal relationship. The helper must respect the voter's privacy, non looking at the voter's election unless the voter asks them to do so.
• Election officials (including poll workers) must make reasonable accommodations as needed to help y'all vote.
• Ballot officials must provide you with assistance if it's possible for them to practise so.
• A voter with a mental disability cannot be turned away from the polls because a poll worker thinks they are not 'qualified' to vote.

What to do

• Y'all tin can bring a family unit member, friend, or another person of your choice to assistance yous at the polls. Practise non bring your employer, or an amanuensis of your employer or union.
• If you lot bring a person to assistance you, permit the poll workers know that when you lot check in. They may ask yous to swear nether adjuration that you have a inability and that you take asked that person to aid you. Your helper may as well be required to sign a class swearing that they did non tell you lot how to vote.
• If at that place are long lines and you have a physical or mental health condition or disability that makes it difficult for you lot to stand in line, tell a poll worker.
• Tell election officials what you demand. For case, if information technology's hard for you to stand, they should provide you with a chair or a place to sit while you await. If the crowds or noise are hard for y'all, ballot officials tin notice a quiet place for you to await and call you when it's your turn to vote.
• If you are not able to enter your polling place considering the pathway to it is not fully accessible, ask poll workers for curbside assistance. Also call 1-866-OUR-VOTE to report the issue.
• If you have difficulty using the materials provided to make your ballot selections, review, or cast your ballot, let a poll worker know and ask for the assist you need. Accessibility is the law.
• If you face whatsoever challenges in voting privately and independently or are unable to bandage your vote, report the problem to the Election Protection hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE. Trained attorneys tin can assist you and make sure that other voters do non experience the same problem.

     Additional information

• Observe detailed voting guides at Bazelon Center for Mental Wellness Law
• For a toolkit on voting with a inability, visit the Autistic Cocky Advocacy Network.
• Visit SABE's GoVoter Project for accessible trainings on how to practice your rights as a voter with a disability.
• Take a course on polling identify accessibility requirements at the Rocky Mountain ADA Eye.
• For voting in germination in American Sign Language, visit SignVote.

I speak English less than "very well"

Your rights

• Under federal constabulary, voters who have difficulty reading or writing English may receive in-person assistance at the polls from the person of their choice. This person cannot be the voter's employer, an amanuensis of the voter'south employer, or an agent or officer of the voter'south union.
• Counties covered by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act are required to provide bilingual assistance to voters in specific languages. This ways that they must provide poll workers who speak certain languages, and make all election materials and election-related information available in those languages. Check whether your county is required to provide bilingual ballot aid in a language you speak.

What to exercise

• You tin can bring a family member, friend, or other person of your pick to assist you lot at the polls. Exercise not bring your employer, or an agent of your employer or wedlock.
• If you live in a county that's required to provide bilingual voting assistance for a language you speak, you can request oral assistance from a bilingual poll worker and ask for voting materials, such every bit a ballot, in that language.
• If you take problem voting due to lack of English language fluency, call one of these hotlines:
  • Spanish: 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA / 1-888-839-8682
  • Arabic: 1-844-YALLA-The states / one-844-925-5287
  • English language: 1-866-OUR-VOTE / 1-866-687-8683.
  • Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Urdu, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog, Vietnamese): 1-888-API-VOTE / 1-888-274-8683

Additional information

• For detailed guidance on bilingual voting assistance, visit Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

Someone is interfering with my right to vote

Examples of voter intimidation

• Aggressively questioning voters about their citizenship, criminal record, or other qualifications to vote.
• Falsely representing oneself every bit an elections official.
• Displaying false or misleading signs most voter fraud and related criminal penalties.
• Other forms of harassment, particularly harassment targeting non-English speakers and voters of color.
• Spreading faux information near voter requirements.
  • Yous practise not demand to speak English language to vote, in any country.
  • You practice non demand to laissez passer a test to vote, in any state.
  • Some states practice non require voters to present photo identification.

Your rights

• Information technology'due south illegal to intimidate voters and a federal crime to "intimidate, threaten, [or] coerce … any other person for the purpose of interfering with the correct of [that] other person to vote or to vote equally he may choose."

What to do if you feel voter intimidation

• In many states, you tin can give a sworn statement to the poll worker that you lot satisfy the qualifications to vote in your state, and then proceed to cast a ballot.
• Report intimidation to the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE or one-888-VE-Y-VOTA (en Español).
• Written report intimidation to your local election officials. Their offices will be open on Election Day.

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Source: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/voting-rights/