wednesday's child: Voting - Know Your Rights, Know Where To Go!

November 01, 2004

Voting - Know Your Rights, Know Where To Go!

Double check your polling place, look in your local newspaper or click here

And courtesy of the Democratic National Committee:

VOTER BILL OF RIGHTS Know Your Rights | Exercise Your Right to Vote

Voting is the most direct way for you to affect your government - don't let anyone deprive you of this precious right! Read through the list below and be aware of your rights before you go to the polls, and use the information below if you encounter any harassment or intimidation.

:: You are entitled to vote without being harassed or intimidated by anyone.

:: Bring personal identification with you to the polls (driver's license, government ID, bank statement or utility bill).

:: If you forget your ID, you can still vote. In some states, all you need to do is sign an affidavit. In others, you can vote by provisional ballot.

:: If records show you have moved, you can vote by signing an address confirmation.

:: If you are in line at the polling place before the polls close, you can vote.

:: You have the right to receive a demonstration of voting equipment before voting.

:: If you are disabled or are over the age of 65, you have the right to an accessible polling place and help in voting.

:: If anyone challenges your right to vote :

Ask for the name of the person who is denying you the right to vote and write it down.

Ask to talk to a supervisor and lodge a complaint.

Posted by Morticia at November 01, 2004 09:01 PM

Comments

I woke up terribly depressed today (well, more than the usual, anyway), having been unable to sleep and when I DID actually sleep, was tortured by terrible, disjointed dreams. I know what it's all related to...I'm convinced that when the day is done, Bush will still be with us.

I am hoping we will be surprised by an unprecedented voter turnout -- and that Kerry will be our next president. Even my young children are jazzed.

Posted by: CP on November 2, 2004 05:46 AM

I think I know what I'm experiencing: the term for it is "an impending sense of doom."

I keep wondering if even Kerry wins, will he really be winning? Or is there some horrible conspiracy to take it away from him, whether sooner or later?

It's like the old saying, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean everyone isn't against you."

Posted by: cp on November 2, 2004 06:33 AM

That's how my husband and I have been feeling too, even if Kerry obviously wins, will they try and pull something? I didn't sleep at all either, then went to vote at about 10 am hoping to miss the crowds (we did!), then went to IHOP and ate breakfast and came back home and crashed for the rest of the day.

Now the real watching paint dry fun begins as the the poll results start trickling in.

I guess we can be glad that at least there weren't any "last minute terrorist attacks", etc., I wouldn't put anything past this group.

Posted by: Tish on November 2, 2004 07:16 PM

I've had nightmares all week too. Even one about waiting in line for early voting and then not being allowed to. The day after I had that dream we actually went by our early voting place and there were like 200 people waiting in line so we decided to just go on Election Day (at least we can stand in line indoors ;-).

The newspeople right now are irritating me because they're predicting winners in states with less than 10% reporting and a lot of states (like Ohio) still have people waiting in line.

But they are being a little more cautious than 2000 when they goofed so badly. I can't believe states like Florida are being listed as "too close to call", to me that means that Jeb's helping his bro out again...

Posted by: Tish on November 2, 2004 08:10 PM

I'm compulsively checking cnn.com every other minute, as if that could actually reassure me.

Posted by: CP on November 2, 2004 08:17 PM

I know, I have MSNBC's website and our local Houston newpaper's website open and I'm listening to AirAmerica to try and feel a little better. Meanwhile my husband is completely freaking out and depressed. Al Franken is going to have a "sort of live" special on the Sundance channel in about 15 minutes so we'll probably go in and watch that, Al always seems to cheer him up a bit.

From what I'm hearing, though, there are so many absentee ballots out there that they'll still be counting through the end of the week. I'm not sure my stomach can take another week (or month!) of this crap, but if it means Dubya finally gets booted out it will be worth it...

Posted by: Tish on November 2, 2004 10:17 PM