Ignore all polls. Register. Get a friend to register. Get a non voter to promise to vote. Stay in touch. Get all your IDs in order. Re-check all your registrations close to Election Day. Plan your day around this vote. Vote in packs. We have ONE SHOT. 311 days. #FlipTheHouse
[image text – To vote in the 2018 primary in Texas you must be registered to vote no later than Monday, February 5th. Don’t miss out!]
The elections we refer to as Midterm Elections are held every four years, at the half-way point between presidential elections.
The big difference between a Presidential and a Midterm Election is, well, that you vote for the president in one and not the other.
Midterm elections are held on a federal level because, by law, every House seat is open for re-election every two years, and every Senate seat is open every six years.
This is why in 2018 ALL 435 House seats will be up for re-election in 2018, but only 33 of the 100 Senate seats will be up.
Also, midterm elections usually have state and local offices, issues, referendums, and propositions on the ballot. 36 of 50 state governors are up on the block in 2018.
Please don’t underestimate how important your local issues are: whatever the federal government passes down, its usually up to the state how those laws will be enforced. See: like all of reproductive rights
As for your questions regarding WHEN you can register:
So, for example, if you turn 18 ON OR BEFORE November 6th, 2018, you can probably register to vote now.
Some states, like California, even give you the option of registering to vote on the same for that you use to register for a DL, a permit, or a state ID.
HOWEVER: Not all states have the same rules regarding voting registration.
Alaska: Be at least 18 years old or within 90 days of your 18th birthday
Connecticut: Be at least 17 and turning 18 before Election Day
District of Columbia: Be at least 17 years old, and turn 18 years old on or before the date of the next general election
Georgia: At least 17 ½ years of age to register and 18 to vote.
Louisiana: Must be 17 years old (16 years old if registering in person at the registrar of voters office or at the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles), but must be 18 years old to vote.
Missouri: 17 ½ years of age to register, 18 years of age to vote
Nebraska: 18 years of age on or before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the current calendar year.
New Jersey: 17 years of age to register, 18 years of age to vote
New Mexico: 17 years of age to pre-register, 18 years of age to vote
New York: 18 by end of calendar year that you register (note: you must be 18 years old by the date of the general, primary or other election in which you want to vote).
West Virginia: Must be 17 years old and 18 before the next general election. 17 year olds may register and vote in primary elections if they turn 18 before the next general election.
Wisconsin: Be at least 18 years of age on the day of the election to be eligible to vote. Persons who are otherwise eligible to vote may register to vote at 17 years of age if they will be 18 by the next election.
But a new study projects that 40 million Americans who voted last year will likely not show up at the polls for the 2018 midterms.
And that two-thirds of those “drop-off” voters will be millennials, unmarried women and people of color.
The report, just out from the Voter Participation Center and Lake Research Partners, “Comparing the Voting Electorate in 2012-2016 and Predicting 2018 Drop-off,” notes that many of those expected not to cast a ballot next year live in key battleground states like Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Ohio. Read more (7/21/17)
Young people in America, REGISTER TO VOTE AND GET TO THE POLLS NEXT YEAR
THIS MATTERS
YOUR VOTE MATTERS SO MUCH OKAY
Just look at the difference young people getting out and voting made in the UK general election this year…young voters CAN make a POSITIVE DIFFERENCE by getting out and voting
And I know this isn’t a presidential election but it is in some ways EVEN MORE IMPORTANT
Because the president can’t do anything without congress and the senate on his side…but likewise, if the Republicans get a majority it means it will be easier for that disgusting sack of stinking dog-vomit Donald Trump and his party of traitors and criminals to push through the DISGUSTING things they want to try and inflict on the country and its people
Get out and vote democrat next year and keep the Republicans from getting a blank check to try and push through their bigoted, evil bullshit
I’m pretty sure the biggest barrier to young people voting isn’t not caring, it’s not knowing.
Am I registered? Shit, who knows? I’ve moved five times in the last four years. I think I registered, but that was a year ago, did I change districts since then? Where even are the polling places in this town? What are their hours? I know I submitted a registration, but did they get it? I didn’t get a confirmation. Did they lose my form? Am I even eligible? Who knows? Oh well, I’m sure I can always register in the days leading up to the – whoops, there’s a deadline and it’s already gone by.
This is one of those civic skills that you would really think would be taught in high school, and – surprise! – it isn’t.
Of course, all of this – in the way of Tumblr, and the internet more generally – will be lost to the vagaries of cyberspace by the time November rolls around. So hey: tag it with “voting reference” and you’ll always be able to find it again.
Please get out and vote on Thursday. Theresa May and the Tories are counting on you to just not be bothered and stay home instead. No vote is a vote for the Tories in this election. It’s a vote for cuts to schools and hospitals and a cut to the taxes of the wealthiest people in society while the poor, sick and disabled are left to freeze and starve. No vote is a vote to take food away from children to give tax breaks to the rich.
Prove them wrong on Thursday. Make them regret their arrogance. Do something radical and VOTE.
UK people, you’re all registered (if you’re eligible), right?
Okay, so the election is next Thursday, June 8th.
Have you got a polling card? That will tell you where to go to vote. Look it up. Find out how to get there. If you’re able bodied, it’s probably within walking distance of your home. If you’re not, pre-arrange transport. If you’re struggling to sort transport, contact the candidate you want to vote for, because most candidate’s support campaigns are arranging transport. They want you to vote!
Plan exactly when you’re going to vote. Book out the time in your diary or your calendar or set up a Google alert, whatever works best for you. If you plan, you’re more likely to do it.
Your polling station will open at 7am. That means you can go on your way to work or college in the morning, if it’s convenient.
Your polling station will stay open until 10pm. So if you forget until you’re home for the evening, you can still go and vote! As long as you’re in line by 10pm, you can still vote.
It’s really easy. You don’t have to take your polling card with you. You don’t have to give your voting number to the campaigners outside the polling station. You don’t need ID. You just need to go to the polling station listed on your polling card.
When you get to the desk inside, give your name and address to the person waiting. They’ll mark you off on their list – that stops anyone else being able to vote by claiming to be you. Then they’ll give you a voting paper that lists all the candidates standing for election in your constituency, next to the names of their parties. (Your voting paper won’t list Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn, unless you live in their constituency.)
Take your voting paper to one of the little booths – in our polling station, these are tables with sheltering hoods built over them so no one else can see what you’re writing. There are pencils in there. (You can take your own pen if you want to, but honestly, all the stuff about people erasing your vote and writing in a vote for another candidate is just scaremongering. People counting votes don’t have time to change votes.)
Mark a cross in the box next to the candidate you want to vote for. Don’t write rude things or draw rude things next to candidates you don’t like – any mark other than the one next to your chosen candidate could mean that your vote is spoiled and won’t be counted. (If you want to spoil your vote, you are free to do so. I’d really rather you didn’t, but it’s your choice.)
When you’ve made your mark, fold the paper up and put it in one of the boxes that are there to collect votes.
And that’s it! You’ve exercised your democratic rights! Go you! Time for the pub.
Just in case any new voters are concerned about the process, or any people with anxiety or similar are worried–the above is a great step by step description of what happens when you go to vote.
I love voting! It’s always very quiet in the polling station because people have all day to vote (and because not enough people vote, but still–it’s never like in the US where there’s a long line of people). The people staffing them are incredibly friendly and polite. It’s also illegal for people to campaign or hassle voters within 250 metres of these main entrance of a polling station. It’s never taken me more than five minutes. And you can walk away with the satisfaction of having exercised your statutory right to shape the country.
An additional suggestion that’s too late for this election but may be helpful in future: if you know you’ll have difficulty getting to the polls for any reason, apply for a postal vote.
I’ve heard a lot of people think you need to have a valid “excuse” to ask for a postal vote, but you don’t (unless you’re in Northern Ireland – sorry, guys!). Anyone can request one; you won’t even be asked why you want it. All you have to do is fill in a one-page form (found at the link above) and post it in You can ask for a postal vote for just one election, for a specified period of time, or forever.
If you have a postal vote, it’ll arrive in the post a couple of weeks before the election. Inside you’ll find your ballot paper, a declaration form, and two envelopes. Start with the ballot paper. Just like a regular ballot paper, you put a cross next to the person you want to vote for, and then you seal it in one of the envelopes. Simple! All you have to do then is sign the declaration form, put that and the sealed ballot paper in the other envelope, and you’re done. Pop it in the postbox. It’s freepost so you don’t even need a stamp.
(If you’re worried you might forget to post it in time, no problem – you can hand your postal vote in at the polling station on election day and it will be counted.)
I did a postal vote this time because I’m on holiday the day of the election and there’s no way that I’m not going to vote. It really was simple to do. You put in your postcode and the website lets you know where to send your application to (in my case the local town hall).
You can choose whether to apply for a single postal vote for one election, whether to do it for a range of dates (useful if you’re going away to UNI and don’t want to have to fill in a new application each time) or to do it permantley – great for people who have problems leaving the house for whatever reason. You can even have your postal vote sent to a different address than your registered one (for this you will need to put a reason, but again could be something like ‘on holiday or at university).
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
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