Five Things You Should Know Before Voting
The 2020 election will be the first time I — along with 15 million other Gen-Zers — will be eligible to vote. It will be the first time in our lives where we will have a say in the governance of our country. It is an empowering feeling — which is why I am ashamed to say that I almost didn’t register to vote. In the state of Oregon, the age to register to vote is 16. It took me almost two years after turning 16 to finally Google “how to register to vote.” And no, I did not avoid registering because I thought it would be a hefty process. Anybody on social media these days knows there is an online form that only takes two minutes to fill out. No, I was intimidated by the thought that I would need to start consuming immense amounts of information in order to be properly prepared come election day. Perhaps if I didn’t register to vote, I could avoid all of that responsibility. But to quote Abraham Lincoln: “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” And while yes, voting is yet another thing that I have to add to my ever-growing list of responsibilities right now (like waking up before noon and whatnot), voting is not nearly as complicated of a task as I had initially assumed. In fact, after much research, I have concluded that there are only 5 essential things to know before voting:
CONFIRM that you are registered to vote
Make sure you know if you are registered or not. The worst thing that can happen when voting is getting prepared, only to realize you forgot to register come election day! Luckily for me, I have already confirmed my voter registration through a short online form that only takes one minute to fill out.
Know HOW you are going to vote
All states offer in-person voting and mail-in voting. All registered voters can vote in person, but depending on your state, you may need to either apply for or provide a reason for needing a mail-in ballot. If you choose to vote by mail, this link will give you the guidelines and the resources to vote by mail in your state.
Know WHEN to vote
Election day is November 3rd, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you will be voting on November 3rd. While in-person voting will take place on November 3rd, if you choose to vote by mail, you may be filling out a ballot a few days in advance. It is also important that you check your state’s absentee ballot deadline to make sure you mail out your ballot with enough time for it to be processed by the Postal Service.
Know WHERE you are going to vote
When voting in person, you will be voting at your assigned polling location which is determined by your residential address. If you are voting by mail, I suggest somewhere with a comfortable chair and a hard surface.
Know WHO you are voting for
This is possibly the most important thing you will need to know before voting. With so many political matters and candidate viewpoints, investigating them all can seem like a long and arduous process. Wouldn’t you rather take a quiz that tells you which candidates match closest to your political viewpoints? At VotingSmarter, we’ve done all the tedious research for you. With the VotingSmarter iOS or web app, you can take a fun quiz that will immediately reveal who your #PoliticalMatch is!
And with that, you’re ready to vote! For those of you who now feel motivated to learn more about all things voting, I encourage you to check out some of our other blogs, such as Your Young and Informed Voter Checklist and How Do Votes Get Counted in US Elections? Additionally, usa.gov/voting is a great resource.
Contributed by Breanna Guo (Marketing Intern at VotingSmarter)
