Where can I vote? When can I vote? Is there a dress code at polling places?
HeadCount volunteer Kat Jutras answers five simple questions about voting. In partnership with Global Citizen.
HeadCount volunteer Kat Jutras answers five simple questions about voting. In partnership with Global Citizen.
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00:00I'm really passionate about voting because I've never been able to do it.
00:04For some people that would deter you from ever getting involved but for me it was like how can
00:10I still contribute? How can I still try and make an impact in my community? And for me that was
00:16engaging people about politics and really asking them to use their privilege to vote.
00:24If you don't want to wait until election day to vote you can do two things. You can either vote
00:49by mail or you can go to a voting location designated as an early polling place. Normally
00:57you're going to want to leave some room for processing if you're sending it by mail so we
01:02suggest as soon as you can complete it, sign it, and mail it back. You can take that ballot and
01:08drop it off at a voting center drop box location or send it back through USPS. It has to be post
01:15marked by November 3rd. If you're going to vote in person the most important thing is to not wear
01:26any campaign specific clothing or memorabilia, pins, buttons. You can wear red, white, and blue.
01:33You can wear something USA related. Yes, you can wear a band t-shirt. However, wearing campaign
01:39clothing or memorabilia is called electioneering and it's another form of campaigning.
01:49So the most common form of ID you can use when you vote is your state driver's license. It should be
01:56updated if possible. You can use your passport. It is a federal document with your name and
02:02information on it. So some states will allow you to use a student ID to vote but generally you're
02:08going to need a state ID if you're going to vote in person. If you're not using a state ID you can
02:16look up what other forms you may be able to use like a utility bill or something like that. If
02:23your ID has expired while we have been in this COVID-19 pandemic, you can call the recorder's
02:32office or the secretary of state's office or look it up online to see if they'll accept a expired ID.
02:38The recorder's office is a public records facility essentially where people can access
02:45public records or government information. There are some states that don't require
02:50any ID but it's important to look that up before you go to the polling place.
03:00To find the closest polling location you can go to the secretary of state or
03:05recorder's office. Normally there'll be a really easy way on there to find your
03:09closest polling location. Some states require you to go to a designated area
03:15near where you live. In other states you can go to any polling location. I highly recommend you
03:21checking your mail-in ballot if you have one and are choosing to do that.
03:26It'll tell you the closest place to drop it off or mail it back to.
03:34So if there's an error on your mail-in ballot, something like your name's incorrect or your party
03:40affiliation is wrong, you can give them a call. There should be a number to call on the back of
03:45your ballot or on the envelope that you received. But if you've made an error and how you filled it
03:51out and realized it after you left or after you've mailed it, there is not really a way to correct it.
03:58But they're mostly looking to see that everything has been completed entirely,
04:04all the bubbles are clear and filled, and the signature matches the ID.
04:08They just want to let people know that you're valued, you count, and the voting process is a
04:15way that that is measured. The representatives that we have are all in based off of people
04:22voting. Elections are made and broken sometimes based off of a few thousand votes or a few
04:29hundred votes. So each person really does matter, each person does count,
04:34and the way you can speak up about it is by voting.