The Informed Voter’s Guide to Making Sure Your Vote Counts

Double Check Your Registration

In every state except North Dakota, you have to be registered in order to vote. States and counties are supposed to remove from their registered voter rolls inactive voters and people who have died or moved. The process can be imperfect, and people can be removed from the rolls who still intend to vote.

Issues with registration are among the most common problems voters face at the polls — 65 percent of calls received by a tip line set up in 2016 by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials were about issues with voter registration.

When you show up to vote, a poll worker checks that your name and correct information are on the voter roll. In many counties, you can check whether you are registered through your county or city municipal website.

Know Your State’s ID Requirements

Thirty-four states request or require that you present some form of ID card when you vote. In some states, you can fill out a form saying that you couldn’t get an ID in time to vote. So-called “strict ID” states will only let you vote using a provisional ballot if you lack an acceptable form of ID. In these states, you might need to take further action to make sure your ballot is counted, like returning to the polling place with the proper form of ID.

What You Can Do Now

Take a few minutes and figure out your state’s ID requirements

Experts say that voters are poorly informed about what ID is required, and many who decide not to vote because they think they don’t have an acceptable ID actually do. Don’t give up hope! You can find out the ID requirements in your state below (data courtesy of the League of Women Voters). Read them carefully!

Know Where You’re Going

Another way to prepare yourself is to make sure you’ve got accurate information about where you vote. Polling places can change, so make sure ahead of time that you’re showing up at the right location. Even if you’ve voted in the same place for decades, it’s worth checking. You can minimize mistakes by learning basic information ahead of time. Checking your polling place is super simple. You can do a Google search for “Where do I vote” or click the button below, and we’ll do it for you.

What You Can Do When You Vote

Leave Extra Time!

If you find yourself in the wrong polling place, the best thing to do is to leave and go where you’re supposed to vote. Leave yourself enough time that you can still make it even if you have to go to a different polling place and wait in line again.

Patrick said that it’s easy to underestimate the amount of time it will take to vote and that voters should give themselves plenty of time to find the right building and cast their ballot.

Long Lines

While we’re on the subject of long lines: Election officials are expecting heavy turnout on Election Day. Experts say that wait times longer than a half hour will cause some voters to abandon the effort. Don’t let that happen to you!

If you tend to vote after work, you can expect to be able to vote even if the line looks like it is so long you’ll still be in it after polls have closed. Most states have laws protecting this right, explaining exactly how the last person in line is determined, and poll workers are instructed to allow every person already in line when the polls close to vote.

Beware of Misinformation

Misinformation about voting is a common dirty trick in campaigns going back generations. Be on the lookout for fraudulent mailers, flyers, robocalls and especially SMS messages.

Claire Wardle, head of First Draft, a group that researches and combats misinformation, warns about social media posts pushing false or misleading information: “This might be rumors that you can stay at home and vote via text message. It might be old images of protests at poll stations, suggesting it would be difficult or dangerous to vote. There might be fabricated videos showing voting machines displaying the wrong name when someone goes to vote. If you see any information connected to how you can vote, double-check the source. Don’t re-share that information.”

First Draft is a partner on ProPublica’s Electionland project.

Voters whose native language is not English may be especially vulnerable, and they may also have to deal with poor translations of important voting information.

You should rely on trustworthy sources of information, as well as official documents.

What You Can Do Now

Know Your Info

You can fight bad information by knowing the right information. If you’ve read the previous section, you are already on your way to doing that! All voters should know their polling location, hours of operation and ID requirements.

Where to Get That Info

Refer to official government websites for translated information. While these sites make mistakes, those errors are likely to be caught by advocacy groups and corrected.

On election information you get in the mail, look for the official election mail logo. The U.S. Postal Service only allows this logo on materials sent by authorized election officials. It cannot be used for political purposes by campaigns.

Find Out What’s on Your Ballot Right Now

You might be surprised on Election Day when you see just how much is on your ballot. Some states have local judicial elections, municipal races and lengthy ballot measures to vote on in addition to candidates. In Florida, some ballots run up to five pages long. These are potential laws that will affect you, so it is in your best interest to make an informed decision! You can take the time to read a sample ballot today and have a game plan ready when you enter the voting booth.

Sometimes, selecting more than one candidate in a race will void your vote. If you accidentally mark the wrong candidate, don’t try to correct it yourself. Let a poll worker know. They should be able to void your ballot and give you a new one.

But also be aware that you might need to choose more than one candidate in a race. This is sometimes the case in races to pick judges.

Access the Ballot if You’re Disabled

Every polling place must comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. If the building the polling place is in isn’t accessible, the law requires that the jurisdiction provide an alternative such as curbside voting. Building access and a lack of poll-worker training on ADA-compliant voting machines can provide extra challenges for voters needing assistance.

Vote Provisionally if You Must

If you think you've done everything right but are stopped from voting, don’t give up! Federal law requires poll workers to offer a provisional or affidavit ballot to voters who can’t vote the conventional way. If the error that kept you from voting is cleared up, the provisional ballot will have the same effect as a regular ballot. It will be verified to ensure you are indeed eligible to vote in that district.

But the provisional ballot is not fail-safe. It will only count if it turns out you are eligible and registered. If you voted at the wrong polling place, whether or not your provisional ballot is counted based on your state’s laws. Maine is the only state that will count your entire ballot regardless of where you voted. Other states will only count your votes on the races that you would have been eligible to vote in based on where you are registered. Many states will not count the ballot at all. Since there are many local races in the midterms, it is important to vote in the correct polling location.

You might have to take some action in order for your provisional ballot to count. That could include going to the board of election office with proper ID within a specified period of time after the election. So after submitting your provisional ballot, you should follow up to make sure you’ve completed whatever action is required.

You should also follow up with the election office to find out if your ballot was counted. You can use the receipt you are given when you submit your provisional ballot to follow up after the election and check the status of your ballot.

If All Else Fails, Call for Help

If there are any issues you encounter when you vote, you should make your poll workers aware of the situation and give them a chance to fix it, said Genya Coulter, who is a precinct clerk in Florida.

There are resources available if, despite your preparation, you still can’t vote. The political parties usually operate voter hotlines, and an avowedly nonpartisan group called Election Protection operates a call center anybody can contact to get advice.

Republican Voter Hotline: The Republican Party is not operating a national voting problems hotline this year, but it directs voters to contact state and county Republican Party officials.

Democratic Voter Hotline: 833-336-8683

Election Protection Hotlines:

• 866-OUR-VOTE run by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (who provides data to Electionland)
• 888-Ve-Y-Vota (Spanish) run by the NALEO Educational Fund
• 844-Yalla-US (Arabic/English) run by the Arab American Institute
• 888-API-VOTE run by Asian and Pacific Islander Vote and Asian Americans Advancing Justice

How to Report Problems to Electionland

Electionland is a coalition of hundreds of newsrooms around the country that is monitoring all of the problems outlined in this guide, now through Election Day. Led by ProPublica, Electionland uses data and technology to track any issues that can prevent voters from casting their ballots — including long lines, registration problems, purged voter rolls, broken machines, voter intimidation, misinformation, changed voting locations and more — nationwide and in real time. We need your help to do it.

Here’s how to let us know if you encountered anything that stopped you or others from casting a ballot:

• Text VOTE to 81380
• Message us on WhatsApp at 850-909-8683
• Message us on Facebook at m.me/electionland
• Tweet at us @Electionland

In 2016, the Electionland coalition went through thousands of tips from a legal call center hotline, as well as thousands of text messages and social media posts from voters like you. Local journalists around the country reported 400 stories and helped bring attention to voting problems that were fixed before polls closed.

This year, if you see something, say something. We’re listening.