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badasscrossstitch · 4 years

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Voting in Illinois

Last week I asked my college students how many of them had ever voted (2 out of a class of 35 had). Only a handful were confident they were registered. I asked a few questions to see how much they knew about the voting process. This week, I put together a resource page and walked them through the myriad of options they had for registering, absentee voting, early voting, day of voting, how to look up their ballot ahead of time, how to research candidates, how to research judges and issues, and talked to them about their trepidation’s around voting. One student asked what this had to do with a business class and I explained at length about the impact that electeds have on everything that could impact their future businesses and the kind of world they want to live in. I then asked them how many of them were taught any of this before- 2 hands went up. I was SO ANGRY FOR THEM. All I hear is how young people don’t do this and they don’t do that and they don’t vote. They don’t vote because we have failed them. How can we expect to have civically engaged citizens if we do not teach them the basic logistics of HOW to vote. We let them graduate high school right at the age when they can first vote and we don’t demand that part of their learning include how to vote let alone how to vote informed. How is it that I have a classroom of voting age students who are brilliant and creative and inspiring and they learned more in a 30 minute crash course in voting with me in a business class than in their formal education prior to today? I hope they feel as much resentment as I feel right now and I hope they take that to the polls and show this country what is possible when we give folks the basic literacy and resources to do the most important thing any citizen can do in a democracy.

Here are the resources I shared with them.

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE

1) Register to Vote

2) Ways to Vote

3) Know your Ballot

4) Do your Research

1) Registering to Vote in Illinois:

· You must be a United States Citizen.

· You must be 17 years old on or before the date of the Primary Election and turn 18 on or before the date of the General or Consolidated Election.

· You must live in your election precinct at least 30 days prior to Election Day.

· You must not be serving a sentence of confinement in any penal institution as a result of a conviction.

· You may not claim the right to vote anywhere else.

When you register, you will receive a voter registration card in the mail. It will tell you where you go vote. (Somewhere nearby your address). If you don't get one in time you can look up your polling location here: https://ova.elections.il.gov/PollingPlaceLookup.aspx (Links to an external site.)

Same Day Registration:

Illinois has same day registration. That means you can show up to your polling location with 2 forms of ID, register, and vote all at the same time!

On Election Day, voters who are not registered to vote can register and vote at their home precinct only. Any voter who is not registered and needs to know where to go to register and vote on Election Day can utilize the Clerk’s online Your Voter Information Tool to find their proper polling place by address or birthday.

Voters planning on registering to vote or updating their address on Election Day must bring two pieces of identification to register, one with a current address.

2) Ways to Vote:

Early Voting

If you know you won’t have time to vote on the day of the election (March 17, 2020) don’t worry! You can vote early (and you can register and vote at the same time!). Early voting takes place March 2-16th. There are dedicated early voting locations. Here is a list of the Cook County locations: https://www.cookcountyclerk.com/service/early-voting-locations

Here is the location and schedule for the early voting polling station closest to Columbia:

69 W WASHINGTON, 5TH FLOOR

69 W WASHINGTON ST

CHICAGO, IL 60602

Feb. 19 - Feb. 21

09:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Feb. 24 - Feb. 28

09:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Mar. 2 - Mar. 6

09:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Mar. 9 - Mar. 13

09:00 AM - 07:00 PM

Mar. 16

09:00 AM - 07:00 PM

Mar. 7

09:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Mar. 14

09:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Mar. 8

10:00 AM - 04:00 PM

Mar. 15

10:00 AM - 04:00 PM

69 W WASHINGTON, PEDWAY

69 W WASHINGTON ST

CHICAGO, IL 60602

Feb. 19 - Feb. 21

09:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Feb. 24 - Feb. 28

09:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Mar. 2 - Mar. 6

09:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Mar. 9 - Mar. 13

09:00 AM - 07:00 PM

Mar. 16

09:00 AM - 07:00 PM

Mar. 17

06:00 AM - 07:00 PM

Mar. 7

09:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Mar. 14

09:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Mar. 8

10:00 AM - 04:00 PM

Mar. 15

10:00 AM - 04:00 PM

Election Day Voting

In Illinois, you do NOT need to present a photo ID or any documentation in order to vote. You just have to be on the registered voter list. I find it helpful to bring my voter registration card with me and just hand it to them so they can find me easier.

Voting doesn't take long at all in most cases. Just roll up, check in, get your voting form, go to a booth, fill it out, return it to them, get your "I voted" stitcker, post on social that you voted, carry on with your day knowing you did your civic duty and used your voice to shape the country the way you see fit.

Mail In Ballot/Absentee Ballot - Illinois

Don't want to wait to vote on election day or go to the polls? That's cool. Get your absentee ballot mailed to you. Fill it out at home and mail it back! So easy. It takes 2 minutes online. Here you go... https://www.vote.org/state/illinois/ (Links to an external site.)

The ballot must be postmarked by the day of the election.

Primary: March 17th / General: Nov 3rd

Registered to vote in another state?

Cool! Get your absentee ballot from that state mailed to you. Fill it out at home. Mail it back before election day in your state. Easy.

https://www.usa.gov/absentee-voting (Links to an external site.)

3) Know Your Ballot

The primary is where each party votes on who they want to run in the general election (November 3,2020). You are essentially narrowing down the field in this election.

In the Illinois primary, when you show up to vote you need to declare if you want a Democratic ballot or a Republican ballot. You can choose either but not both.

The choice on who you want to run for President is NOT the only choices you need to vote on. Each ballot is different based on where you live.

Go to this site: https://ballotpedia.org/Illinois_elections,_2020 (Links to an external site.) and enter the address you used to register to vote. It will give you a sample ballot. You can then use the sample ballot to research candidates and issues. You can fill out your sample ballot ahead of time and then bring it with you into the voting booth so you remember all the folks you want to vote for. This will also make the voting process real quick.

4) Do your Research

This is probably the most challenging part of any election.

Local politics/local positions are SO IMPORTANT. Local elected officials get to make major decisions that impact your neighborhood, your city, your county, and your state. Yes, national politics is super important but local politics, I would argue, has an even greater impact on your day-to-day life.

a) Know your ballot

There are lots of ways to do your research. Knowing what is on your ballot will narrow down the amount of research you need to do. So be sure to go to : https://ballotpedia.org/Illinois_elections,_2020 (Links to an external site.) and get a copy of your ballot.

b) Researching presidential candidates

Currently, there are 8 Democratic candidates and 2 Republican candidates.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/politics/2020-presidential-candidates.html

Since there are so many Democratic candidates running for president there is a lot to consider.

I found this resource helpful:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020/quiz-which-candidate-agrees-with-me/ (Links to an external site.)

It could help you narrow down where to start your candidate research.

c) Voting for Judges

When deciding on what judges to vote for (because let's be honest...what the hell do I know about who should be a judge or not) I use this resource: https://www.voteforjudges.org/ (Links to an external site.)

Ultimately, you cast your vote for the candidates that you believe will create the kind of country that you want to live in.

I hope this is helpful to you. I hope you choose to vote. As always, I am here to answer any questions or talk through anything with you.

Shannon

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE

#vote #register to vote #how to vote #illinois #primary elections #elections #usa

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captainsaku · 6 years

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pixesemma replied to your photo “[Text of Tweet: George Takei: If you are turned away at the polls...”

Wow. So Americans not only need to jump through several hoops to register to vote, you're also only allowed to vote in one location closest to your home adres? What if you're in a wheelchair and it isn't wheelchair accesable, but the other location is, are you just sad out of luck? Your version of democracy is so wonky it's disturbing.

Hello! I’m not American so I can’t reply to your questions for them, but I can tell you what happens in Argentina.

In Argentina, what happens is that you are automatically registered to vote when you turn 18, and showing up to vote is compulsory. Because, you know, it’s our civic duty as citizens and all that. Anyway. What they do is assign you to a polling place, usually a school, based on your registered place of residence. It tends to be a few blocks away from your home, so it’s easy for you to get there. Also, voting tends to be on a Sunday so most people won’t have issues with voting clashing with work. At the polling place, they set up what we call “tables.” Tables are numbered, and everyone is assigned to a specific table based on their last name (so my dad, my brother, and I, for example, all get the same table because we share a last name). Each table has a President, in charge of overseeing the whole process and making sure nothing weird goes on, and 2 or 3 helpers to cross people off their list, get your signature, hand you an envelope, etc. Once it’s your turn to vote, you go into a blacked-out classroom. When I say blacked-out, I mean that all windows are covered so nobody can see inside. The point of this is that votes are also secret. At the polling place, you’re not allowed to discuss anything related to voting, let alone say who you’re going to vote for. If you do, your vote is void and you’re shit out of luck. So, you go into this room, you pick the ballot for the candidate you want, stick it in the envelope, seal it, and then come out and put the envelope in a ballot box. The box isn’t opened until the day is over, a can’t be tampered with.

Now, if you’re wheelchair-bound or for whatever reason you can’t climb the stairs and need to get to the second floor to vote (for example, you’re an elderly person), what actually happens is that someone (usually a police officer at the door) goes to your table and comes back with the ballot box and the table president so you can still vote (I’m unsure of how they go about this cause I’ve never seen it myself, but they probably have a special room set up for it or something). So the whole thing is pretty accessible even if/when you have limitations for getting to your assigned voting table.

So like, my point is that no, you’re most definitely not shit out of luck, and the system actively works with you so you can fulfill your civic duty.

All of the above said, I’d like to point out that Americans specifically have a LOT of different options for voting, as far as I’m aware, which include mailing in their vote instead of showing up to the voting place on the day of the elections.

And I’m going to go ahead and tag @fantastic-nonsense who can probably explain how the American system works. (But you don’t have to if you don’t want to, just figure you’re the best for the job out of the people I know on this site =P)

#pixesemma #Captain's chatlog

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lramlan18ahsgov-blog · 6 years

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Civic Action Assessment of Issue

1. Part of being a citizen in a community and in this country is being an activist. Change will not come if you do not stand up for it. We cannot move forward if we do not reach out to fix our problems. As a citizen, you must initiate the changes you want, and stand up for what you believe. Express your beliefs, support what you love, and advocate for what you think is right.

2. The basic responsibilities of being a citizen are paying taxes and voting. On top of this, there are dozens of ways for citizens to get involved in government and have their voices heard. Our government system is designed to let our opinions shine through, and as a result, it is incredibly easy to fight for change. Citizens can create and pass their own proposals. They can sign petitions, protest what they dislike, contact their representatives. There are so many ways to reach out and express your beliefs.

3. I absolutely feel that it is my duty to help those in need. I had a job over the summer working at a homeless respite center, and it was there that I realized I had to help people who are not as fortunate as I am. If I am gifted with opportunities that others do not have, it is my responsibility to fight for a world where everyone has equal opportunity. And as a woman, I will continue to fight for women’s equality, since it concerns me (and half the population). I will continue to stand up against the injustices brought forth by gender and race. I feel that is my duty as a citizen, to make my opinions heard and fight for the changes that I believe in

4. Over the past summer, I got an internship for Contra Costa Public Health, and as part of that job, I worked at the homeless respite center in Martinez, a shelter that provides medical care and housing for homeless patients. While I was there, I got to speak with women who were victims of discrimination and domestic abuse. One woman was fired after having her child, since her job did not support her on maternity leave. As a result, she couldn’t find employment and ended up homeless with her baby. She then got an infection in her feet, accompanied by diabetic complications, and ended up at the center. Luckily, I was able to sit down with her, talk about her struggles, and work with the doctors and nurses who are attempting to heal her and put her back in a stable home. I met another woman who got an infection in her leg from living in her car for 3 years. She had been forced out onto the streets by an abusive boyfriend before finally landing at the respite center. I was heartbroken by the stories of these unfortunate victims, and decided that I would do everything in my power to support them both now and in the future. So I volunteer at the food bank, make care packages for the homeless, and inform those around me on how they can help as well, both through voting and volunteering.

5. Unfortunately, I am not able to vote this year. My 18th birthday is on November 13th, while the voting date falls on November 6th, just one week too early. That hasn’t stopped me from going through the voting guide they mailed to my parents, or researching current laws working their way through the system. This hasn’t stopped me from going to marches to express my support for women’s rights. But in the future, I can’t wait to be able to vote on issues, and hopefully make a bigger change. I also hope to enter a career path in medicine that will not only help those who are sick, but hopefully reduce the costs of treatment as well, so that everyone can afford the care they need. In the mean time, I will continue doing all that I can to support my community and make my voice heard.

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khalilhumam · 4 years

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Universal Voting: Your questions, our answers

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/universal-voting-your-questions-our-answers/

Universal Voting: Your questions, our answers

By E.J. Dionne, Megan Bell, Amber Herrle, Shane P. Singh, Allegra Chapman, Joshua Douglas, Miles Rapoport, Whitney Quesenbery We hosted a virtual event this month about a new report which calls for universal voting in the United States. You can watch the hour-long video here and read the report here. We had so many excellent questions, some of which we were able to answer during the event, but we didn’t have time to get to every single question. So here are responses to some of the questions we didn’t have a chance to answer: Roughly 100,000,000 Americans did not vote in 2016 because they did not want to. These are the people who concern me. I don’t see anyone doing anything about it and it’s been 100,000,000 forever. Thanks for this question, which goes to some of the central points of the report. We believe our election laws make it far more difficult for people to register and vote than they should and we propose significant reforms. We obviously believe that making voting a duty will create useful pressure to make it as easy as possible for people to vote and fulfil their obligation. Our election laws are especially difficult for young Americans to navigate, because young people are more mobile than older people. This is one reason why turnout is much lower among those under 45 and especially low for Americans under 30. The good news: turnout soared in 2018 and my hunch is that it will increase significantly in 2020. Nonetheless, we need the reforms we outline to get to full participation. –EJ Dionne, The Brookings Institution Would requiring everyone—including low-information voters—lead to erratic or unpredictable election results? We dedicate an entire section responding to this very question in the report. On principle, we object to the idea that “low-information” voters lack the understanding and knowledge required for voting. We believe that requiring everyone to vote—no matter their education level or political affiliation—will better represent popular will and lead to a far more representative system of governance. Historically, we’ve seen how “literacy tests” and other false measures of “competence” have been used to disenfranchise voters of color and the less well-off. There’s reason to believe that compulsory voting and its complementary reforms would increase citizen knowledge. Resources that were previously used for turning out the electorate could instead be reallocated to educating and persuading voters. Candidates and political parties would need to appeal to all voters, not just “likely” voters. Moreover, we propose enriching our nation’s civic culture by expanding civic education in schools, encouraging engagement in the election process, and conducting widespread voter education campaigns. On the question of erratic or unpredictable election results, it’s hard to believe that elections could be more erratic or unpredictable than they have been recently. In Australia, where mandatory participation has been the law for nearly a century, there is no evidence that their elections are more erratic or unpredictable than anyone else’s. We agree with the legendary political scientist V.O. Key Jr., who wrote in his book, The Responsible Electorate: “The perverse and unorthodox argument of this little book is that voters are not fools.” This view lies at the heart of our report. –Megan Bell and EJ Dionne, The Brookings Institution If the proposal suggests that people would not be obligated to choose between the candidates and have the option of turning in a blank ballot, wouldn’t going to booths and waiting in line for long hours only not to vote for anyone redundant? In a word, no. The allowance to abstain from voting but still comply with the mandate to show up (in-person, by mail, or through some online mechanism) is not redundant. We know this to be true from other countries that require comparable actions (participation without selection of any one candidate). In Australia, for example, citizens are required to “present themselves” to polling places for an election but aren’t required to select a candidate. With this 1924 mandate, the jump in turnout went from 60% in the 1920s to roughly 90% today. And the percentage of ballots spoiled or left blank is quite low: in 2010, it was reported to be six percent of cast ballots. This isn’t surprising, particularly since people are often inclined to do the default: In the same way one is likelier to enroll in a 401k at his or her workplace if required to opt-out rather than opt-in, voting can similarly become adopted and habitualized; it becomes likelier for the average citizen to do it when prompted by the government. Moreover, with the requirement in place, states and localities have to take on practices and reforms to ensure voting is actually easier: automatic registration, longer in-person early voting periods, establishment of more polling places, vote-by-mail options (plus elimination of hurdles such as voter ID). Essentially, all states would take on models comparable to those in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, where wait times are minimal and turnout rates are higher. –Allegra Chapman, AAC Consulting How has this worked in other countries? The application of compulsory voting works differently across countries that currently mandate turnout, of which there are over 25. In some places, such as Australia, Singapore, and the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen, abstention is punishable with a monetary fine. This is generally not too onerous (for example, in Australia the penalty is AU$20). Elsewhere, nonvoting can lead to nonmonetary penalties. For example, in Brazil and Peru, abstention can prevent access to public services, such as loans from public banks or obtaining a passport. A number of countries, including Greece, Paraguay, and Turkey, have a legal requirement to vote but it is wholly unenforced or there are no specified penalties for abstention. Cross-national research shows that turnout rates tend to be highest where abstention penalties are meaningful and enforcement is likely. –Shane Singh, University of Georgia You mention that a “none of the above” option would be added to the ballot under this initiative. What happens if it wins? Even in one jurisdiction? This is an interesting question, though a “None of the Above” (NOTA) option winning an election seems very unlikely. In the report, we draw on two experiences of the NOTA option, the first in Nevada and the second in India. A “None of These Candidates” option has been available on all ballots in Nevada state and federal elections since 1976. Since then, the NOTA vote share in Nevada’s presidential elections has ranged from less than half of a percent to 2.56 percent in the 2016 election. The best national example of widespread use of NOTA is in India. In the first general election after the NOTA was added to the ballot, NOTA votes made up only 1.1 percent of the total vote share. One of the reasons we included NOTA in the proposal is because there is evidence that it actually encourages turnout. A 2020 voter experiment on the effects of NOTA found that including a NOTA option “increases participation and reduces the vote shares of non-establishment candidates.” –Amber Herrle, The Brookings Institution Wouldn’t universal civic duty voting require a constitutional amendment? (Like 13th, 15th, 19th) The Constitution leaves voting to the states — yes? Or would just legislation like the Voting Rights Act work to do it? The U.S. Constitution gives states the initial authority to regulate congressional elections, while Congress has the power to override those rules. Article I, Section 4 says that “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections…shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations.” In addition, Article I, Section 2 gives states the authority to determine who can vote in congressional elections. States also have the power to regulate their own elections, so long as those rules do not violate a constitutional mandate. So, a state could pass a law to adopt universal voting for elections that occur in the state, whether for president, Congress, or state elections. Although Congress has the power to “make or alter” state rules regarding the “time, place, or manner” of an election, universal voting might implicate Article I, Section 2, which gives states the exclusive power to determine who can vote in federal elections. Thus, it is less clear whether Congress itself could mandate universal voting in federal elections. That is one reason why our proposal focuses on states and even cities within states that have the power to determine the voting rules for local elections. Many voting changes begin at the local or statewide level and then spread to other places, ultimately culminating in a nationwide rule. That’s essentially what happened for the women’s suffrage movement and the 19th Amendment. We see universal voting as an idea that is best tried at the local or statewide level first, and states certainly have the constitutional power to implement this reform. –Joshua A. Douglas, author of “Vote for US: How to Take Back Our Elections and Change the Future of Voting” How would this initiative be enforced? We propose a modest (e.g., $20) fine for not voting, which would not be subject to increases, interest, and civil or criminal penalties. This fee would not be levied upon those with a valid excuse for not voting (e.g., sickness and disability, natural disasters, travel, and religious obligation or belief). It could also be waived through the completion of a small community service requirement. We also recommend that jurisdictions consider using incentives, such as discounted public fees, a refundable civic participation tax credit, or a lottery for which participation in the election is the entry as way to promote turnout. –Megan Bell and Amber Herrle, The Brookings Institution How do you ensure fines don’t fall disproportionately on Black, Indigenous, and Latinx voters under a universal voting scheme? And how could universal voting negatively affect the DREAMERS and other immigrants who may also become targets due to their inability to participate in this initiative? This is a great question and something that the working group considered seriously. There are legitimate fears that state and local officials might abuse the voting requirement to target certain communities. Our recommendations call for legislation carefully tailored to ensure access for all communities and protect against misuse or unintended negative consequences. Immigrants’ rights activists also raised well-founded concerns that inadvertent voting by noncitizens could subject them to unfair penalties. We write in the report that civic duty legislation should include “provisions to ensure that non-citizens and people with felony convictions are protected from penalty if they are mistakenly and unknowingly registered or required to vote.” As with Automatic Voter Registration, legislation must be carefully crafted to protect non-citizens and others who may be ineligible to vote in a certain jurisdiction. Moreover, with universal civic duty voting, election officials are tasked with making voting as easy as possible—resisting voter suppression and dismantling barriers to voting—which means fuller participation from all communities and therefore a more representative electorate. –Megan Bell and Amber Herrle, The Brookings Institution Don’t we need to make it easier to register and to vote first? Yes, absolutely. The proposal laid out in the report includes several complementary and collateral reforms that are essential to the success of universal voting. It would be impossible to have a system of universal voting without expanding opportunities for voter registration, increasing options for voting (including early voting and vote-by-mail), and strengthening election administration. We call for these reforms in the report on our section titled, “Paving the Way for Universal Voting.” –Amber Herrle, The Brookings Institution Do you mean all elections?  Primaries, state legislatures, county governments, municipal, school board, school budget, referendums?  There can be three or four elections in the same year. Is there a danger of trivializing the vote? This was an important question to address because the United States has far more elections than most other countries. We believe the process should cover major elections, including congressional, statewide, and state legislative elections, with some flexibility given to states and municipalities who adopt universal civic duty voting, in regard to what elections it would cover. We hope that consideration of universal civic duty voting might be a spur to consolidate the calendars of elections, and we recommend that primaries be excluded, because they are party nominee-selecting processes, and not for all voters. –Miles Rapoport, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School Is there any chance of making Election Day a Saturday? What about Election Day as a holiday? Making Election Day a holiday is an attractive idea if we abstract it to a question of how to we make voting a visible and celebrated part of life in a democracy. There are some good reasons to do it, especially if it became a focus for broader civic engagement. Practically, with schools and businesses closed, finding polling places and election workers would be easier if Election Day were a holiday. The challenge, however, is that many people have to work, even on holidays. And those people are often the ones who face the most barriers to voting, so there is a chance that it could increase disparities in participation and increase marginalization. There is also the question of how an Election Day holiday would impact the growing number of people who vote by mail or during early voting periods. In many states, you can already vote on a Saturday (or Thursday or Sunday). Before taking such a big national step, we need to make sure that it would actually meet the goal of increasing turnout. –Whitney Quesenbery, Center for Civic Design

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