Make SURE That Your Vote Counts

At the risk of mentioning the obvious, I would like to bring up some seemingly minor points that are tremendously important in reality:

Are you actually registered to vote? Can you prove that?

Below, I address these important issues, for the general voter, the student, the LDS missionary, and military personnel.

I have heard of many mishaps in recent years involving voter registration:

• In some jurisdictions, if a person has not voted in a certain number of elections, it is assumed that this person has died or moved, and so they cancel this person’s voter registration. Let’s say that some people, normally nonvoters, decide that this is the election in which they shall break their habit; they get down to the polling place, but with their voter registration cancelled, they cannot cast a ballot.
  
  
• In most jurisdictions, a person has to show official proof of registration in order to vote. This may be a card, or a letter, from the Board of Elections. Without this proof, a person may find it difficult or impossible to vote.
  
  
• After moving your residence, voter registration does not follow you around automatically. Even just moving across the street can put you in a different voting district. In some jurisdictions, there is a lengthy period after registration before one can actually vote. So, after a move, even a very short one, unwary voters may find themselves unable to vote.

Yes, in many jurisdictions (not all!), one can cast a provisional ballot if there is some uncertainty about one’s eligibility to vote. However, let’s face an unpleasant fact: certainly there were many stories in the 2000 and 2004 elections about the manipulation of questionable ballots. (Think of all those stories about disputes involving hanging chads, military ballots, absentee ballots, even misplaced and uncounted ballots.) Sorry as I am to say this, these questions were often resolved to the disadvantage of Democratic voters. Sure, if you absolutely have to, cast a provisional ballot. However, the best thing is to make your eligibility certain well ahead of time, so that you can cast a regular ballot in the regular way.

The point here is that, in this election of all elections, it is important for you to be registered to vote, and to have the necessary proof of that registration handy, well in advance of the election. I would therefore strongly suggest that the readers of this blog do the following very soon—certainly during the month of June:

• Verify your registration to vote with your local Board of Elections. (You can find them in your local telephone directory, or just call directory assistance.) Request written proof of your registration, if possible. If, in fact, you are not registered, then register immediately. If you run into a problem here, try giving the League of Women Voters a call; yes, they help men, as well. (Frankly, the League of Women Voters are unsung heroes of American democracy; they deserve medals and equestrian statues in the public squares of the nation.)
  
  
• Confirm with your local Board of Elections what proof of registration you must have in order to vote.

The elections of 2000 and 2004 were replete with stories of large numbers of voters—by far, mostly Democrats—who were not permitted to vote, for one reason or another. Let’s get out past this potential roadblock as soon as possible.

In addition, it may well be the case that you have friends and family members who agree with you that Senator Obama should be our next President, but who are not themselves registered to vote. You can make a great difference, and really leverage the power of your individual vote, by helping these people to register, and even arranging to help take them to their polling place (which may well be different than your own polling place), if they need transportation.

It is a matter of historical fact that a few hundred votes in one particular state—just a few hundred votes—would have swung the entire national election to Al Gore in 2000. Although I would like to think that the Obama candidacy will draw a comfortable margin by Election Day, there is no way of predicting that. Let’s start preparing now for the possibility that we will face a close election in November, by (1) registering to vote, or confirming our registration; (2) obtaining physical proof of that registration to vote; and (3) helping our like-minded friends and family to do the same.

Another point: Election Day is Tuesday, November 4, 2008. If you are going to be out of town—if you even think you might be out of town on that day—then arrange for an absentee ballot now. If you are disabled or a shut-in: get an absentee ballot now. Please note that absentee ballots have to be mailed in and delivered in advance of Election Day to be valid—sometimes well in advance of Election Day, depending on the jurisdiction. (Note: Although this is a national election, rules on issues like the deadlines for filing absentee ballots vary on a state-by-state basis.)

Special Case #1: Students

Students usually have the option of voting either at school or in their home districts. However, students—especially first-time voters—can get stuck in the College Student Calendar Catch, as I call it. By the time students show up at campus in the Fall, if the students have not registered to vote yet, it can actually be too late to register at school or at home in time to vote in November. Even if the student is registered at home, if that student wants to file an absentee ballot, the student has to request that absentee ballot in enough time that [a] it can be delivered to the student’s home (you usually can’t get it sent by the Board of Elections to your school address), [b] someone at home can mail it to the student at school, and [c] the student can mail it back to their home district’s Board of Elections, by the deadline—again, often well before Election Day.

The upshot of all this is that the student voter has to get things done in advance in order to vote. It doesn’t matter if you’re the kind of student who doesn’t get started on the paper due Tuesday until 11 p.m. Monday; it doesn’t matter if you started studying for your 10 a.m. final examination over breakfast; it doesn’t matter if you started preparing for the oral defence of your thesis on the walk to campus—for this election, you are going to have to make some advance prep in order to vote. Extensions shall not be given.

Make the decision now—like, this weekend—as to where you will vote, either at home (by absentee ballot) or at school. Where will your vote count most? Only you can tell. However, remember the key issue: it is all about votes in the Electoral College, not the popular vote. In light of that, here are my suggestions:

• Scenario #1: You are from a strongly Democratic state that will certainly go for Obama, and you go to school in a traditionally Republican state. Or: your home is in a traditionally Republican state, and you are going to school in a strongly Democratic state that will certainly go for Obama. Either way, vote in the Republican state: with enough of you, perhaps you can swing the state in an upset.
  
  
• Scenario #2: Both school and home states are strongly Democratic, and will certainly go for Obama. Or: both school and home states are traditionally Republican. Either way, vote in the state where the election polls show a closer race for Obama; your vote may help make the difference in a closer contest. If the two states are really equal in their support, then vote in the state that has the larger number of electoral votes.
  
  
• Scenario #3: Anything else. See Scenario #2.

If you plan to vote at school, then go through the registration process as soon as you can, by mail if necessary. (Call the Board of Elections in your school’s town to find out how.) If you plan to vote at home, then request the absentee ballot immediately (i.e., the day you read this, or the following business day).

Special Case #2: LDS Missionaries

A special point in relation to voter registration is the matter of those who serve as full-time LDS missionaries. I have heard people say that “the counsel of the Brethren” is that full-time LDS missionaries should focus on their missions and not give thought to voting in elections.

Oh, really?

I do not recall ever seeing such a policy in print. Let someone bring to my attention something in writing from the current LDS General Handbook of Instructions that supports such a policy (with date or edition, and page numbers, please), and then that will settle the matter for me. Something in writing as an official statement of policy from the Missionary Department would do as well, of course.

However, in the absence of such supporting evidence, then regardless of what someone thinks they heard, regardless of the policy of one’s former mission president, regardless of the opinion of any individual—no matter how high up in the administrative hierarchy—and certainly regardless of the tendency amongst our people to believe the occasional rumor, my counsel would be that people who are on or plan to be on missions over the next few months should arrange in advance for absentee ballots. Missionaries should not engage in politicking, political discussion, or even surfing this blog. However, voting takes but a few minutes. Voting does not detract from the spirit of a mission.

It is no exaggeration to say that the destiny of our nation hangs in the balance with this election, and that the entire future life of a missionary hangs in that balance, as well (given the possibilities of a military draft, and the continuation of the war.) If we permit our missionaries the time for recreation on “P Day,” then we can certainly permit them the time it takes to fill out an absentee ballot.

Special Case #3: Military Personnel

You may well have friends or family in the military, or be in the military yourself. Military personnel have to cast absentee ballots to vote in the presidential election. This should be arranged far in advance of the election, immediately if possible. You never know when military personnel might be called into action for weeks at a time, a period during which their eligibility to cast an absentee ballot may expire.

Conclusion

When it comes to arranging to vote, as with all good and virtuous enterprises, Latter-day Saints should follow the advice of one of our leaders of an earlier day: Let’s do it—now, and with a plan.