The election is here. Right now, North Carolinians are filling out their ballots for the 2020 election. Indeed my ballot is sitting on my kitchen table as I write, ready to be dropped off at the elections office. True, Election Day, Nov. 3, doesn’t come for just over 40 days, but waiting until then to vote is a risky proposition this year. While polling places have been outfitted with various precautions to fight contagion, it’s far easier and safer to fill out an absentee ballot or vote early.
Elections are the centerpiece of our entire society. This country came into being over issues of representation in government and many of our greatest struggles have been to expand access to the ballot box for all citizens. The right for every adult to vote has been hard fought, and we disrespect those who have given their blood, sweat and tears for this right by choosing not to exercise it.
Further, elections have a tangible effect on our daily lives. As a notable example, they can determine whether or not you can expect to see another $1,200 check from the government in your bank account, or whether you’re eligible for unemployment benefits. At a local level, they actively shape your environment by determining whether a park is built near you, whether buses or trains are available for travel and how much tuition a university has to charge to make ends meet.
Many NC State students know this already, and many probably already have plans to vote. If you don’t have a plan, make one. Even if you haven’t even registered to vote, there is still time for you to help choose the rules that you live by, but you must act soon. As with most tasks, voting is much easier the earlier you get started on it, and most of the steps you need to complete take a few minutes at most, so you may as well stop what you’re doing and get to voting immediately.
For starters, you need to register. If you are a citizen and over the age of 18, you can easily register to vote online, provided you have a driver’s license, or print, sign and mail a physical voter registration form. The deadline for this is Oct. 9, but if you wait too long to complete this step, you may be rushed in trying to finish everything else before the deadline.
If you’re already registered, which you can check here, you have to decide how you’re voting. The easiest and safest way for you to vote is probably an absentee ballot, which is mailed to your home, allowing you to research candidates and bubble in your choices with full access to the internet and the comfort of your couch. To vote this way, you must first request a ballot through the online portal or by filling out a request form and emailing it to your county board of elections.
Finally, once you receive your ballot, which you can track here, you vote! Look at candidates’ campaign websites to get an idea of what their ideology is, if that’s what matters most to you. Search their name and the office they are seeking to find news coverage of the race; any past scandals will likely show up this way, and you may be able to find interviews where they discuss issues they care about.
Don’t rely on advertisements or posts shared on social media — these are often intended to be misleading and won’t always tell the full story. These are also likely to mostly show up for high-profile races, like the presidency or the Senate, so you probably don’t need to worry about this as much for the county school board or other local elections.
Once you’ve made your picks, ask a friend or family member to watch you fill out the ballot. They should not be looking over your shoulder, merely ensuring that you are filling out your own ballot. Put your ballot in the provided return envelope, sign it and have your witness sign it as well. Your ballot will not count if the envelope isn’t properly signed, and missing a witness signature is easily the most common ballot error.
Send your ballot through the mail or drop it at your county’s board of elections office to turn it in. Again, you can track the progress of your ballot to make sure it is received. Of all the steps, researching candidates is likely the most time consuming, and you should prepare to spend a few hours on it. For the price of those hours, however, you can have confidence that the candidate you choose will vote the closest to how you want them to, or are the most competent for the position, or whatever criterion you believe matters most.
Don’t procrastinate. If you are anxious about the way the pandemic is going, this is your one and only opportunity to choose the people in charge of our government’s response. Voting can be a challenging task, but don’t let that deter you. Your voice matters, but only you can put in the effort to make sure that it is heard.
