Worried about the integrity of the midterm elections? Daily, we hear stories about the challenges we face and the potential for disruption leading up to the midterms. Every one of those efforts is currently being challenged in court. We should aim to do what we can and let the lawyers handle the rest.
Newsletter writer Robert Hubbell offers the best advice – Vote Early!, and get others to do the same. Remove all doubt that your vote will be counted. Make Post Office rules and delays irrelevant. Help election officials by reducing long lines on election day.
Here’s how you can plan your own early vote. First and most importantly, check the status of your voter registration. Check that you are registered at your current address. There are wonderful national resources available to help you:
Vote.org – Helps with voter registration, checks whether you’re registered at your current address, finds your polling place or request a mail ballot, shows what’s on the ballot, tracks your ballot once cast.
Vote411.org – Created by the League of Women Voters, includes registration deadlines, previews ballot information, finds polling places and volunteering opportunities at polls, and more.
Voterizer.org – a national registration portal created by Field Team 6, a national organization committed to registering every pro-democracy voter. In addition to basic information, they also offer the Blue Voter Guide (bluevoterguide.org), which provides information on Democratic candidates and issues in your local precinct.
CAUTION: AVOID MAGA’s votesafe .org at all costs!!!
It is a bogus voter assistance website financed by Elon Musk to collect and harvest your personal data, which is then sold.
In addition to our own early votes, there are relational steps we can take to ensure that all our votes are counted. Spread the word to family, friends, and neighbors, and particularly to your contacts in other states. Let them know when Early Voting starts in their states, and then give them reliable links for follow up.
In addition, keep your eyes open for grassroots campaigns – e.g. postcards, phone calls, canvassing – that are effectively helping to spread the word, especially in battleground states.
Early Voting is already underway in several states! It is happening, and we must be ready to do our part. In Massachusetts, we can vote early in person or by mail. Check the approved voting websites for details.