DON'T TAKE YOUR VOTE FOR GRANTED
"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state..."
Preamble to the 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution
DON'T "ASSUME" THAT SOMEONE ELSE IN YOUR COMMUNITY HAS SUFFICIENT RESOURCES, FORESIGHT AND FOLLOW-THROUGH TO ENSURE YOU AND ALL OTHERS CAN VOTE.
- Don't "assume" that if you've never had a problem with voting, you won't.
- Don't "assume" if you've ever had a problem with voting and think it's been fixed, that it has been.
- Don't "assume" because you filled out a voter registration form that your name will be on the voter roll on election day.
- Don't "assume" that your name, correctly spelled, and your current address are on the registration roll.
- Don't "assume" what the deadline in your state is for voter registration or application for/receipt of your absentee/vote-by-mail ballot.
- Don't "assume" that the polling place where you've always voted is where you are required to vote for early voting, if available in your area, or even on November 4.
- Don't "assume" that if your name isn't on the voter registration roll and yet you are in the correct polling place for where you live, you can't vote.
- Don't "assume" that when all else fails, you can't vote on a provisional ballot.
- Don't "assume" what dates in-person Early Voting, if available in your area, begin and end.
- Don't "assume" that the ID a poll worker seeks from you is either legally required or that another form of identity won't suffice.
- Don't "assume" that you have no recourse if someone "challenges" your right to vote.
- Don't "assume" that you can't ask for a paper ballot rather than vote on an electronic voting machine.
- Don't "assume" that your local election officials have a workable plan to replenish paper ballots on a timely basis or to handle electronic voting machine breakdowns.
- Don't "assume" that if you are in line before the poll's closing time, you can't vote.
- Don't "assume" that you must accept English-language ballots and voting materials.
- Don't "assume" what the accessibility standards are for your polling place, including for the disabled, and what the rules are for assistance availability.
- Don't "assume" you can't be an important and productive part of the voting process on - and before - November 4.
- Don't "assume" if you are an eligible citizen living outside the U.S. that you can't register and vote on a timely basis.
- Don't "assume" that you aren't able to vote if you've been previously convicted of a misdemeanor or of a felony.
- Don't "assume" that you can't vote if someone is discouraging, intimidating or prohibiting you from entering the polling place.
- Don't "assume" if you have a problem with getting satisfactory answers from election officials or at your polling place, that there aren't volunteer experts including lawyers who are available to help you with a Hotline telephone call, etc.
- Don't "assume" you need permission as a journalist or blogger to report from inside a polling place.