Make a Plan, Stan!
Hi, Voters! Are you getting ready to make your Plan to Vote in the November election? Me too! I’ve just been reading Greg Palast’s new book How Trump Stole 2020 https://www.gregpalast.com/how-trump-stole-2020-2/ so I have had my consciousness raised about the very large number of things that can possibly go wrong without a plan! Happily, the LA County Registrar has setup a super friendly page on their website this year where you can just follow the little gray boxes and make your checklist! Here is the link:
https://www.lavote.net/home/voting-elections/current-elections/find-my-election-information
NOVEMBER 2020 VOTER CHECKLIST
_____ Register to vote. Or Re-register if you have moved or changed your name.
(If you turned 16 this year, Pre-register and wait a couple of years.)
https://registertovote.ca.gov/
_____ Verify your Registration. Accidents happen!
https://www.lavote.net/vrstatus
_____Sign up for Ballottrax. (Where has this been all my life?) It will let you track when your ballot was mailed, received and counted. They will actually notify you by email, text, or voicemail (your choice)! https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/
_____Receive your ballot (they drop into U.S. Mail on or about October 5th to all registered California voters) and read the directions.
_____Grab a blue or black pen and your Culver City Democratic Club slate card and fill in the bubbles. (Sorry! I know this seems too obvious to say, but Greg Palast says that every election cycle a certain number of votes get tossed because the voter used red ink to make checkmarks!)
____ Decide how to return your ballot – by mail (no need to add postage in California) or to a dropbox (there will be hundreds of these) or in-person at any Vote Center. Remember, even if you choose to vote in-person, you should bring your vote by mail ballot with you. The locations of dropboxes and Vote Centers can be found at the links below.
https://www.lavote.net/home/voting-elections/voting-options/vote-by-mail/vbm-ballot-drop-off
https://locator.lavote.net/locations/vc
____ Sign your Official Ballot Return Envelope! Your ballot signature will be compared with your California Driver’s License signature.
____Follow the LA County Registrar’s Ballot Return Checklist:
Ballot Return Checklist
Before you drop off your Vote by Mail ballot make sure:
- Place your voted ballot card(s) inside the Official Return Envelope
- Securely seal the Official Return Envelope
- Sign and date the back of the Official Return Envelope
___ Wait patiently for all the votes to be counted.
The ACLU has a non-partisan Election Protection Hotline in case you have problems voting:
- English: 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683)
- Spanish: 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (1-888-839-8682)
- Arabic: 1-844-YALLA-US (1-844-925-5287)
- Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Urdu, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog, or Vietnamese: 1-888-274-8683
If someone hassles you at the polls, check out the ACLU’s “Know your voting rights” page: