Skip to Front of the Line: Vote Early!

Rod Cardwell, a member of National Postal Mail Handlers Union Local 315, uses a hydraulic hand truck to lift a three-quarter-ton pallet of voter pamphlets.

Mariya Strauss, media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA), explains how early voting works—and like all of us in the union movement urges everyone to vote early if possible to avoid long lines and other potential roadblocks to casting a vote Nov. 4.

Voters in most states have one great choice to make sure their vote is counted: early voting. Some states allow you to vote early in person or vote absentee, but you don’t need an excuse. Some states have mail-in voting. Some states allow absentee voting, but only for a good reason.

The options can be confusing, so here’s a quick look at how it works. (And when you do get to the polls, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has some tips for making sure your vote will count.)

Adam Weiss, the regional field coordinator for the Letter Carriers (NALC) who is volunteering in political mobilization efforts in Colorado, puts it this way: 

With the kind of changes we need to make to put America back on track, wouldn’t you want to get a head start?

If that’s not enough for you, the AFL-CIO Political Department lists a few more reasons:

• Voting before Nov. 4 means you’ll bypass the long lines on Election Day, as well as any potential mistakes or mishaps that could result from doing it at the last minute.
• You’ll avoid all the people standing outside the polling place trying to sway your vote—or turn you away—on Election Day.
• Vote on your schedule. Do you need to plan for child care, elder care or time off from work? With early voting, you have the luxury of voting when you can, rather than when you must.

The non-partisan National Conference of State Legislatures has prepared a website, which will tell you which states have early voting and which have “no excuse absentee balloting.” If you are not sure about the law of your state on absentee balloting, you can also check here.

Some states use the phrase “in-person absentee voting” to describe their early voting process. This means you may go in person, with your state’s required identification, to your county or regional board of elections. They will give you an “absentee” ballot and you can vote on the spot.

One such state is Ohio, where NALC regional coordinator Matt Little is working to get out the early vote. 

There’s been a huge amount of excitement here, so early voting has increased significantly.

Some states require you give a reason why you want to vote early. Valid reasons include health problems, a planned vacation or active military duty. Others have adopted “no-excuse” absentee voting, which means you don’t have to give an excuse to vote this way. And a few states—like Oregon—have adopted a vote-by-mail process, where you have a window of several weeks to mail in your ballot.

Voting by mail is one of the safest ways to vote. Don McIntosh of the Northwest Labor Press published an article last week describing the vigilance of letter carriers in safeguarding the mailed ballots. Said McIntosh:

The postal workers’ unions are very proud to be showcasing the integrity of the mails.

Weis says the nice thing about voting by mail is that it is the ultimate paper trail.

You have a physical ballot that goes through the county clerk. If there are concerns about dirty tricks, you have a reliable paper trail.

McIntosh described how new database technology is helping unions to streamline their get-out-the-vote efforts.

It’s changed the dynamics of the election for unions. You know who has voted and who hasn’t because you can get that on a day-by-day basis electronically. For example, the Oregon AFL-CIO has nightly phone banking. They’re not going to call you if your ballot’s already been received.

Says Weiss:

Early voting and voting by mail are convenient, simple and increase voter turnout. The more union members and their families that are turning out to vote, the faster we can make the big changes we need here in Colorado and across America.

_______________________

Paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Political Contributions Committee, www.aflcio.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

.

Print This Article | E-Mail This Article |Comments (0)