Why should we vote? 

• The President personally appoints specific positions in the U.S. Government 

• One of the the most important positions decided are seats in the supreme court

  • Supreme court justices decide on national laws that affect LGBT+ rights, abortion rights, healthcare rights, voting rights, gun control, and more 

• ALSO, positions like senators and congress people will be on the ballot in the fall

• These legislators have direct impacts on our communities and can be the deciding votes on policies that reflect what their communities want (ex: better climate change policies) 

• Pennsylvania is a swing state!!!!! 

• With 20 electoral votes, PA has a large hand in deciding the presidential election

• In 2016, Donald Trump won PA by 0.72%

• Meaning, every vote counts in this election!!  

 

Registering to Vote 

• You can register to vote at https://iwillvote.com/ 

• It only takes a few minutes and you can check your voting status for whichever state you live in at https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote

• PA’s online registration deadline is October 19th, but registering as soon as possible is ideal 

  • Registration deadlines for every state can be found at https://www.vote.org/voter-registration-deadlines/

 

How can I vote?

• You can vote through mail in ballots, absentee ballots, and in person at a polling place 

• You can find your nearest polling place and absentee ballot information at https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote and https://www.vote.org/absentee-ballot/

• Not all states are automatically sending out mail in ballots, so you can request mail in ballots when you register to vote. You can Google whether your state is automatically sending our mail in ballots or whether you have to request one

 

Sending in a Mail In Ballot

• Due to slow downs at the United States Postal Service, they are recommending that mail in ballots be sent back by October 20th to make sure that it gets in on time 

• Ballots MUST be postmarked on or before November 3rd to be valid 

• Mail in ballots can be dropped off at polling places and also at specific collection boxes (locations vary by city)

• It is also possible to sign up to track your ballot, in PA you can check here: https://www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/pages/ballottracking.aspx

 

What’s the difference between a mail-in and absentee ballot?

• Absentee Ballots: Requested by people who are voting away from their permanent address (ex: an out of state college student who might be living away from their permanent residence). So your absentee ballot gets mailed to wherever you are but your actual vote counts for the county that your permanent residence is in 

• Mail-In Ballots: Is simply a ballot sent in the mail to your permanent address that takes the place of you going to a polling place

• They are processed the same way which is why people are saying they “are the same” in regard to Donald Trump’s misinformation about how mail in ballots are fraudulent

 

Researching Candidates 

• https://www.knowyourvote.io/

• This is one resource that allows you to type in a candidates name and it shows you the info you need to know about them. “Vote effortlessly”

 

Instagram Accounts to Follow for Updates 

• When We All Vote: @whenweallvote

• Rock The Vote: @rockthevote

 

How Can I Help?

• https://votefwd.org/bigsend is a program that allows you to sign up and hand write letters encouraging people to vote in key states 

• Volunteer as a poll worker at https://www.eac.gov/voters/become-poll-worker

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