Before the deadline: how to vote in the presidential elections now

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“Day X” in American politics is less than a month away, but Americans have already begun to elect a president. Early voting is allowed in 37 states and the American capital, Washington. In addition, there is also a system of “absent ballots” for those who, for whatever reason, will not be able to appear in person at the polling station on November 8, Election Day. ForumDaily found out about all the possibilities to vote in advance and compiled instructions for you on how not to get confused in the intricacies of the American electoral system.

The first election and immediately by mail

For Victoria Kleizor, this will be the first US presidential election, when she can vote. Photo: from the personal archive

This is the first time that Victoria Clayzor of Virginia chooses the White House master. She is from Ukraine, but has been living in the States for many years and only recently received citizenship. At the primaries, she voted in person, but decided to fulfill her civic duty in the presidential election earlier, sending the filled-in ballot by mail.

“I have a business trip on November 8, and according to the law, if on election day you will be outside your place of residence from six in the morning to eight in the evening, you have the right to vote in advance,” says the girl.

It turned out to be easy to do: she simply entered into a search engine the query “how to vote in advance” plus the city where she lives, and immediately received all the necessary instructions. Registered to receive the newsletter online. In addition to identifying information, she was also asked the reason why she could not vote in person on November 8th. “I wrote that because of work that day I would not be in the city - I was on a business trip. They clarified where, I indicated the location, and 2 weeks later I received a newsletter by mail and detailed instructions on what to do with it,” explains Victoria.

Such a voting envelope came to Victoria by mail. Photo: from the personal archive

It turned out that she has the right to fill out the ballot only in the presence of a witness. Victoria asked her husband - he watched how, but not for whom she voted, and signed a signature, which confirmed compliance with the rules. The girl, in turn, assured in writing that the reason why she could not vote earlier was also true. Next - the ballot in the envelope, the envelope in the mailbox - and that’s it, Victoria has already voted. At the same time, without wasting time on the road to the polling station and the queue on election day.

Absentee ballot or “absence bulletin”

Victoria used the absentee ballot for voting, to which those Americans who are physically unable to come to the polling station are eligible. It is available in all states, only Some require a reason, others do not..

“If we are talking about elections, then America is not one country, but 50 different ones - in terms of the number of states. Each has its own laws, conditions and requirements. And the answer to the question “how does voting work” will be different in Wyoming and Iowa,” says Susan Jedusicka-Swinat, president of the US Election Foundation.

To simplify the lives of Americans, they created chart, where all possible types of voting and the requirements of each state were entered. Based on it, in 30 states, for example in Arizona, California and Colorado, voting in advance is as simple as possible - you will not be required to explain, much less prove, why you cannot come in person. But in other states it will be mandatory. You can find out in more detail what to prepare for by using the convenient website “US Selective Foundation”: Simply enter your state and city to get detailed information about your region's election rules.

Susan herself also took advantage of the absentee ballot - only for those who will be abroad during the American elections. The woman is now in Munich for work and will not return until November 8th. “I sent a letter from my German postal address to the election commission of the district where I am registered. They sent me a ballot, I filled it out and sent it back to California, where I live,” says Susan.

According to her, this voting method is the longest of all, especially if the distances are large. “It takes a lot of time, you have to worry about the ballot in advance - that’s why many Americans abroad don’t vote. And ballots are often simply not counted because they arrive later than required by the state board of elections,” she continues.

Early voting, or early voting

This form of will appeared in the US relatively recently. Traditionally, US presidential elections are held on Tuesday, which for most Americans is a working day.

“This type of voting began to be actively used somewhere after 2000 to lighten the load on election day and give the opportunity to vote for those who could not do so on Tuesday. But the decision is made exclusively at the state level - in some they begin voting a month and a half before Election Day, while in others this is, in principle, impossible,” says Ilya Shapiro, a constitutional law specialist at the Cato Institute in Washington. Moreover, each state will have own date start early voting.

In fact, the purpose of early voting is the same as the purpose of an absentee ballot—to cast your vote early and avoid going to the polling place on Election Day. But the principles are different. First, voters do not need to provide any reason to participate in early voting. And secondly, he must vote in person by going to the polling station.

This is exactly what the current President Barack Obama has done. During a working trip to his hometown of Chicago 7 in October, he went to the polling station and voted.

And residents of Washington, for example, will be able to start voting in a week. “In the District of Columbia, early voting will begin on October 22 and only one polling place will be open; Several more will open on October 28,” explains Tamara Robinson, an election worker for the District of Columbia.

All residents of the city can come to such sites, regardless of the address of residence. Usually people go earlier, fearing queues directly on election day. But sometimes it is at the polling stations for early voting that the hype is bigger.

“My husband decided to go vote in advance at the last election - on Saturday. And I stood in line for 7 hours. There are few polling stations for early voting, but there are many people who want to vote,” says Victoria.

This may be due to the fact that the popularity of the early elections is growing with each new election campaign. During the last presidential race did not wait for election day more than 30% of Americans.

However, Victoria’s husband will vote on November 8 for this election. Then there will be much more working sites, and he hopes that the whole process will not take much time.

Sign up and not be afraid to ask questions

Any type of vote in the United States, regardless of type, must be preceded by registration. You can do this online by visiting the website of the election commission of your city. For example, in Arlington, Va., you will be asked to fill out a form on several pages.

“This is the first thing every voter needs to do. Moreover, only in some states you can register directly on election day, usually you should worry about this in advance,” says Susan Jedusicka-Swinat, president of the United States Election Foundation.

She admits that the US electoral system is complex and sometimes not very logical, so everyone can get confused. Therefore, it is important not to be afraid to ask. In each district there are election commissions in which you are required to explain absolutely all the nuances of the electoral process.

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Choosing a President: First Steps - Voter Registration

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