Pssst ... Pass It On!

I'm envious of my friends in other states who have already gotten to vote; I have to wait another 8 days. As I've been saying all along, I'm worried about problems on November 4—not for myself, but for first-time voters or those who are easily intimidated, as well as anyone who live in a state infamous for its polling-place "irregularities."

James reminds me about GoodVote.org, whose goal is to make sure that every registered voter gets to cast a ballot. In order to make sure everything goes smoothly next Tuesday, check out the web site and help pass along this information.

Meanwhile, if you witness anyone being denied the right to vote, tell them to call 866-OUR-VOTE for guidance. (Or they can call CNN's voter hotline at 877-GOCNN-08) You might also want to print out this list of voter rights and responsibilities. Among your rights are the following:

• You may ask to cast a provisional ballot if your status as a qualified voter is in question—although this should be a last resort, since there's no way to know whether a provisional ballot gets counted.
• You may request a replacement ballot if you make a mistake or if your ballot is damaged.
• You may vote as long as you are in line by the time the polls close.

Make sure everyone you know is clear about this stuff. Unfortunately, we can't do much about voting machine "malfunctions," but we can certainly make sure that eligible voters are not turned away at the polls.

Comments

[Wendy]

My grandma, who's 101, voted absentee, so that she could do it as early as possible. Just in case she dies before Election Day, she wanted to be sure she got her vote cast for Obama . . . Too bad she doesn't live in Ohio, at least this year.

[Margaret]

I voted a couple of days ago and my daughter voted yesterday. (went out in the mail today) It's nice to get it over with; it really does take some time.

[Tonya]

I'm in awe of Wendy's comment. 101-year-old grandma voting for Obama. There truly is hope in this world.