Four Things to Do to Get Ready to Vote in Midterms

How refreshing it is to have a candidate who isnt about Republican or Democratic sides but has a vision of people as Americans and Texans coming together to solve problems and unite as one. If Texas gets out and votes, Beto can happen.

Joanna and readers, please check out what Shaun King and others have posted about very misleading things happening when voting. One voter posted that in Texas, they chose the straight ticket (Democratic) and when they reached their final screen, the vote showed that it would be for Ted Cruz rather than Beto O’Rourke. You can easily look this up! It’s not even enough just to vote anymore. Make sure you are VERY vigilant and double-check everything so your vote is cast for all of the candidates properly.

https://www.msnbc.com/am-joy/watch/ap-some-texans-saying-voting-machines-changing-straight-ticket-choices-1355379779527?v=railb&

If you’re in NY or NJ, I found this guide that WNYC and Gothamist put together to be SO helpful when doing research on candidates.

https://elections.wnyc.org/

Thanks for this post! Another good tool to help you decide who to vote for: https://www.votesmartjustice.org/
It’s set up by the ACLU to help enact reform in the criminal justice system.

Thank you for this post! I wanted to volunteer as a driver on Election Day for my community and was really struggling to find how to go about that (google wasn’t much help). I just signed up to offer rides through Carpool Vote!

The necessary thing for the triumph of kindness is that good people do something. (I prefer action statements – can you tell? ;))

Great post, Jo! I would add, if you have kids, use this time to teach them what voting looks like. If you’re able to bring them to the polls with you, do it. (I know this may not be an option for some people!) If you have absentee ballots, sit them down at the table with you while you fill out the card. If they’re old enough, talk them through how you’re voting and why. I remember my mom taking me to the polls with her when I was a kid, and it made such an impression on me. Let’s influence the next generations to be engaged in the voting process!

Joanna, I love your blog and completely respect your political views, even if I don’t always agree with them so please don’t take this the wrong way. I am a bit confused about the connection between what happened in Pittsburgh and the importance of voting. Is there an insinuation that had different people been in power the shooting would not have happened? Regardless of what side of the gun control debate you are on, to reference Pittsburg in that way (and the only mention of such on your blog, which is puzzling given your usual in-depth, empathic reaction to national tragedies) is hurtful (I believe) to those suffering from this awful tragedy. It also brushes past the issue of anti-semitism, assuming that if there was a better gun situation, anti-Semitic acts such as this would not take place, and I think that as History has unfortunately shown, it’s a lot more complex than that. What are your thoughts?

We vote early here in Maryland. If you can in your state, I HIGHLY recommend it! I’ve done it for the last several elections, and I will continue…here the polls are open for a week, including on the weekend. No excuse not to vote…not that there ever is! I’ve never missed an election since I voted for the first time at 21 (it wasn’t 18 back then) and I am 67 now. It has NEVER been as important!

There was a post which wrote something like, it´s my decision if I vote or not.
Exactly, no. Living in a Democracy, it´s our obligation to vote!

And imagen, first in ’65 afroafricans were allowed to vote and only around 100 years ago we women!

There are so many countries still in the world, where people can vote only for one candidate or get threads if they vote for the “wrong” person.

Thank you! This is so very helpful.

I’m mailing in my ballot today which is amazing because I’m not even a citizen!! San Francisco is allowing non citizen parents to vote in the school board elections this year. Pretty cool!

Thanks for the great work here— it’s so important.

I’m Jewish, and our life centres around the synagogue local to us; both our children go to the nursery there, it’s where we go on Shabbat and chagim (holidays), and it’s the centre of our friendships and community. I love that when I drop my babies in the morning people are coming out of shacharit (the morning services) and during the day there’s the bridge club, ladies guild and all sorts of events. Security is tight; we have to be realistic that this is London in 2018 and there is a real and constant threat (my husband is French and the synagogue where we got married is guarded by the army).
I spent all of yesterday worrying about how safe my children will be when I drop them the next morning and reminding myself that (hopefully) the same couldn’t happen here because of our devoted (non Jewish) security guards, all the fences and gates (that are annoying but essential), the CCTV, the police who guard on holidays and the fact that guns aren’t readily available in the Uk. There’s a church nearby and the security is non existent; I don’t think my non Jewish colleagues have ever had to have the same considerations about childcare.

I wish it wasn’t like this, but it is. I feel heartbroken for those families and a community that should be able to exist in peace, without threat.

this isn’t aimed at this site, rather, at the overwhelming amount of people telling me I have to vote. I don’t need anyone telling me to vote and if i did, I shouldn’t bother voting.

I love what Pay Sajak said, “I would encourage you to vote next month, but if you need a TV game show host to remind you, then you probably shouldn’t.”

VOTED!

Volunteer! I made calls and knocked on doors last week and I plan to do it again a couple more times before election day. It’s been giving me hope in days that feel hopeless. Bring a friend if you are nervous–it’s a lot easier than it seems! Encourage folks to early vote if it’s available (it saves you waiting in long lines on election day and if you run into problems you still have time to right it before it’s too late). Call your family and friends and bring them to the polls with you. EVERY vote counts in this election. Your vote is your voice and your political power, so use it!

Thank you so much for posting this! It’s wonderful to read such clear information and such motivating comments on a dark day after a dark week.

Thanks for this!!!!

Here in Indianapolis, we have just opened up more satellite early voting locations, and the lines have been out the door, some with 1-2 hour waits over this opening weekend. I went on Saturday and brought my 20 year old ‘Little Sis’. She is the only U.S. Citizen of voting age in her family, so she has to cast her vote for many who live here but do not yet get to have a say. I’m proud of her!