Voting

Image source: headcount.org

The coming election is looking like it’s going to be the same as every one that’s come before it: the most important one in history. Election Day is approaching fast and some state deadlines for registration are as early as this Sunday! As a result, I figured I’d do my part by offering up resources for anyone who would like to double check their registration or get registered to vote. As musicians, it is absolutely integral to our craft that we be involved and active politically. What we do is informed by our surroundings, surroundings that are heavily influenced by the political happenings of the country. Our ability to continue pursuing careers in the arts is directly tied to the results of elections. There are many who don’t see intrinsic value in the arts, and sometimes argue why so much money is being wasted on it… The bare minimum way to preserve your livelihood and the livelihood of your colleagues, is to vote. 

Now I realize you’re busy, and it can seem like a lot at times to add one more thing to the pile, but I promise that this process is quick and painless, and you’ll be thankful that you did it! You deserve to have a say in your future. Besides, I’ll get all the links you need together for you below, so all you’ll have to do is click a few times and input your information. The first step, checking your registration, takes literally 30 seconds!

The place I’ll be sourcing throughout this blog is vote.org. They have a super organized website which lists out everything you’ll need. I’ll link the home page here if you’d rather just go ahead and do this on your own: (vote.org) Otherwise, I’ll walk you through step by step below.
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1. Check Your Voter Registration

The first step is to double check if you’re registered. Simply head over to vote.org to do this. I’ll link directly to the form to check registration here. If you’re registered, you’re all set! The only thing you might want to set up is mail in voting or early voting. These options are super handy if you are busy and want to vote on your own time, have something going on on election day, or won’t be in your registered state during the election. I’ll include how to do both of those things in the next two steps.

If you are not registered, you should be prompted with the form to get registered. If not, I’ll link it here. ​The registration process should take about two minutes.
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2. Vote By Mail

This option is wonderful for students going to college away from home, and anyone else who simply would rather just vote on their own time. I utilized this option throughout college because it let me vote in my local home elections while I was away.

You need to request an absentee ballot in advance of the election. Every state has a different deadline for requesting one of these ballots. You can find all deadlines for every state at this link here.

Voting by mail means that your state will mail you an “absentee ballot" you can fill out and return on your own time - although I would recommend doing it as close to when you receive it as possible! Apply here.

After you send in your application, you should receive confirmation via email about when you can expect to receive your ballot. Upon receiving the ballot, simply fill it out with your choices and follow the instructions for mailing it back.
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3. Early Voting

Early Voting allows you to head over to your polling location on a day earlier than the election to cast your ballot. The requirements for early voting also differ by state, and some states don’t offer this option at all. You can see a full list of the requirements and deadlines for each state at this link here.
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4. More Voting Tools

In addition to getting registered, vote.org also offers a wonderful tool that lets you get a look at the ballot ahead of the election to have more time to look into and research the options that will be there. It includes clarifications on what party each candidate is a part of, and even links directly to their websites so you can get a sense of their policies. I’ll link to the form to check this here. 

While people very likely already know who they’re voting for in terms of the presidency. It’s less likely that people are aware of their options for local elections. Therefore, I highly recommend this feature! It’s a huge time-saver, and way easier than googling around the day before to get a clearer picture of who you should vote for.
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Conclusion

I believe that’s everything you’ll need! If you’re interested, vote.org also offers cool features like reminders to get registered, pledges for those who aren’t yet eligible to vote, etc. I’ll link here again to the general homepage: (vote.org).

​I hope this blog was helpful, if not for getting registered, then at least to give you some more options and tools in preparation for November 5th! I’ll see you at the polls. Until then, thank you for reading, and happy jamming!