I’ve seen several people mention putting off voting because of anxiety about how the process works. If that’s you, or if you can give details about a less common scenario you’ve experienced, read on! If you want to talk shit about people who have trouble doing things because of anxiety, keep it moving.
This is a great TikTok showing exactly how the basic process works, from arrival through feeding your ballot into the machine: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZIJWhd9n6/
I’m going to give a ton of detail below, because some people find it helpful to have as much information as humanly possible. That’s not because it’s a complicated process, please don’t be intimidated by the length of this post. The voting process is very straightforward, and there are signs and helpful poll workers available if you have any questions. I just wanted to cover as many different scenarios as possible.
- Before you arrive:
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Check your voter registration status and address. If it shows your current address and either Active or Suspense, you shouldn’t have any complications. If it shows an old address or any other status, you still have options (below), but you will want to be aware ahead of time.
- If your status is not Active/suspense or your address is wrong, and you (re)registered in person with a Volunteer Deputy Registrar, they should have given you a yellow receipt. If you can locate that, bring it with you to the polls and it might make things slightly easier. If you can’t find it, that’s fine, you should still go to the polls.
- Look up your sample ballot. There are lot of different choices to make, and some of the local elections don’t display whether a candidate is a Democrat or a Republican, so it’s a good idea to make all your choices in advance. (If you don’t have time to do this, you are also allowed to leave things blank and only vote for the races you care about.) Also, I have never seen this enforced, but technically you are not supposed to use your phone while inside a polling place. Everybody does it anyway, but if you’re worried, I would suggest printing out or writing down your choices.
- Choose your polling place and check its hours and current wait times. The main tab just shows the locations, but you can click Wait Times to see how busy they are at the moment.
- If you need a ride, contact Rideshare2Vote at least 2 hours in advance. [more detail needed]
- Grab your ID and/or supporting documents. There are 7 forms of photo ID that are always acceptable, even if they are up to 4 years expired. If you don’t have any of those, go to that link for a list of alternate documents that you can use to prove your identity at the polls.
- Make sure you are not wearing any campaign merch. Partisan attire, buttons etc are not allowed within 100ft of the polling place. If you wear a campaign t-shirt or anything that could be interpreted as suggesting who someone should vote for, you will be asked to go remove it/cover it/turn it inside out and then come back.
-
Check your voter registration status and address. If it shows your current address and either Active or Suspense, you shouldn’t have any complications. If it shows an old address or any other status, you still have options (below), but you will want to be aware ahead of time.
- When you get to the parking lot, there will be signs with arrows pointing you toward the correct door. If there’s no line, just walk right in.
- Partisan activity is not allowed within 100 feet of a polling place, so you should not have to worry about anyone bothering you about voting/who they think you’re voting for. It’s fairly unusual for this rule to be broken, but if you see a violation, please call the Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE and report it to them. They will contact the polling place and ensure that the rule is enforced.
- If there is a line, and it’s near the polling place’s closing time, you are still allowed to vote as long as you join the line before it closes. On Election Day, that may mean that the last vote is cast after midnight even though the polling place closes at 7pm! Be prepared to wait.
- If you have mobility issues or if you cannot remain standing for long periods, you can either:
- Stay in the car and pull up to the area that has Curbside Voting signs. There will be a number to call, and a poll worker will bring a voting machine outside to you. [more detail needed]
- Go to the head of the line and look for the poll worker who is standing up near the ballot box. Notify them that you are not physically able to stand and wait, and they will escort you to the front of the line. [more detail needed]
- There will be a few poll workers with iPads sitting at a table, you can walk up to any one of them. There will also be at least one additional poll worker standing near the ballot box and observing to make sure nobody is having, or causing, problems.
- They will ask for your ID. If it’s a driver’s license/TX ID, they will have you prop up it up on a little stand with the bar code facing the iPad (there is a sign that says what to do).
- If you don’t have one of the 7 accepted forms of photo ID but you do have the accepted supporting documents, you will be asked to fill out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration explaining why you don’t have a photo ID. The poll workers will not question you further about it. You will then be able to vote normally.
- If you have an accepted form of ID/supporting documents but you don’t have them with you for any reason (including if you forgot them), or if there is any other problem with your ID, and you are not 1000% sure that you will be able to return with the document(s) before the polls close, you should ask for a Provisional Ballot. [more detail needed]
- They will look up your registration and ask if you still live at the same address that they have on file. It does not matter if your ID has a different address than your registration address. If you still live in the same place, as long as your registration status is either Active or Suspense for the county where you are trying to vote, they will print out and hand you your blank paper ballot.
- If your address is wrong/old but still in the same county, they will give you a form to fill out confirming your new address, and then you will be able to vote normally. [more detail needed]
- If your address is wrong/old and from a different county, OR if you have to vote in a different county than the TX county where you live for logistical reasons, you will need to go to the county’s main polling place and ask for a Limited Ballot. This ballot includes all nationwide and statewide elections, but nothing local. This option is only available during early voting, and only at the main polling place for the county. [more detail needed]
- If they can’t find your registration in the system or it shows as Inactive/Canceled, and you believe that is incorrect, you should ask for a Provisional Ballot and also ask how to provide the registrar’s office with supporting documentation (including your yellow registration receipt if you have it). They will do some additional research to see if they can determine that there was an error. If there was, your Provisional Ballot will be counted. [more detail needed]
- If you requested a paper ballot, but you never received it or you never sent it back, OR you did send it back but you’re worried it won’t arrive by Election Day based on the Mail-in Ballot Tracker, you should ask for a Provisional Ballot. Once they determine that they did not also receive your mail-in ballot, your Provisional Ballot will be counted. If your mail-in ballot is received, they simply will not count your Provisional Ballot. (As long as all the information you provide on your Provisional Ballot is accurate, you will not be in trouble even if the Provisional Ballot is not accepted.) [more detail needed]
- If you are told you cannot vote for any other reason, you should always ask for a provisional ballot. The poll workers are not allowed to deny a Provisional Ballot to anyone. It is up to the Ballot Board, not the poll worker, to review your provisional ballot and decide whether it qualifies to be counted. As long as the information you provide on the Provisional Ballot is accurate, you will not be in trouble if they decide it can’t be counted.
- They will ask if you have voted using these machines before. If you say you have not, they will give a short explanation of how to use them.
- If you are 18 or if they find out it’s your first time ever voting, they may call out “We have a first time voter!” and people will cheer and clap for a couple seconds. This happens many times throughout the day and is over quickly. Even if you have been eligible to vote for a long time, I promise that everybody will be excited that you’re joining the club and nobody will ask what took you so long. If you feel strongly that you can’t tolerate that, I would suggest saying “please don’t announce that it’s my first time voting” as you hand over your ID.
- They will ask for your ID. If it’s a driver’s license/TX ID, they will have you prop up it up on a little stand with the bar code facing the iPad (there is a sign that says what to do).
- Once you have your paper ballot, there may be a short wait for an unoccupied voting machine. They have little separators on the sides for privacy, and they are arranged in such a way that nobody can see your selections while they wait. There are usually many different voting machines (I don’t know the minimum number required but I don’t think I’ve ever been to a polling place with fewer than 10) so it’s not like people will be staring at you and waiting for you to finish.
- You will feed your paper ballot into the voting machine (just like putting a dollar into a vending machine) and make your selections.
- It will think for a few seconds and then start displaying choices on the touchscreen. You are allowed to take as long as you need making your selections, please do not feel rushed. Nobody is going to be mad if you take your time. If there are any races/issues you don’t wish to vote on, simply leave it blank.
- After you make all your selections, it will display all of the choices that you made on the screen for you to confirm. If anything is wrong or you want to change your mind, you can go back and update your selections at this point.
- It will ask you to confirm your final selections and print your ballot. They’re taking a really long time to print this year! I was worried something was wrong, but they’re just slow for whatever reason. Don’t be worried if it takes a minute or two.
- If anything seems wrong or weird at any point, wave over the poll worker who is standing near the ballot box. They are there to help because they care about your ability to vote! They will not be annoyed to be asked for assistance.
- Once your ballot prints, walk over to the ballot box and insert your ballot into the slot that says “Insert Here”. It will scan your ballot, and after a few moments the screen will say that your ballot has been counted.
- If anything seems weird or incorrect during any part of this process, or if you are turned away without even a Provisional Ballot, call Election Protection at 866-OUR-VOTE. They are a hotline dedicated to answering any and all questions about the voting process, and they will also contact whoever is needed to ensure that each polling place is following the law.
- Grab your “I Voted” sticker from the ballot box and go forth to enjoy the various perks local businesses are offering!
***
If you have experienced any of the following or are a poll worker, or if you have questions about anything I missed, leave a comment and I will update the post:
- Voting curbside
- Skipping the line due to mobility issues
- Changing your address at the polling place
- Voting a limited ballot
- Voting a provisional ballot due to:
- registration/status issues
- requested but didn’t return paper ballot
- ID issues
- Curing a provisional ballot for ID issues
- Requesting a ride with rideshare2vote
submitted by /u/rken
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