Election officials have been warning for months that election results that are released the night of the election won’t necessarily be representative. We’ll have a better idea as more time goes on
1. tomorrow w the election results, realize that many votes were mailed in and will be counted until the end of november (x). tomorrow will not have a definitive winner. it’ll be a projection. it seems that a lot of mail in ballots are democratic party votes, so keep your head up unless there’s some kind of massive landslide.
2. voter intimidation is real and i would expect it to be pretty bad at the polls tomorrow. if you experience or witness voter intimidation, please call 1-866-our-vote (1-866-687-8683) to report it. this number calls the national voter protection hotline and they can send federal investigators as well as local law enforcement to help. it’s a good practice to record any voter intimidation that you see at the polls and write your account and report it to local law enforcement, the ACLU, local news, etc. save this evidence in a place that you will not lose it and cc yourself on any emails you send to ensure you do not lose it too.
2a. if possible, vote with a friend or family member.
3. if you are uncertain about your voter status, have not gotten a response that your mail-in ballot has been processed, or if you are booted from the polling line for xyz reasons, please make sure you grab a provisional ballot. idaho, minnesota, and new hampshire unfortunately do not do provisional ballots, but all other 47 states do. as per the linked website, it is a federal law in these states to give voters provisional ballots. quote, “If an individual declares that such individual is a registered voter in the jurisdiction in which the individual desires to vote and that the individual is eligible to vote in an election for Federal office, but the name of the individual does not appear on the official list of eligible voters for the polling place or an election official asserts that the individual is not eligible to vote, such individual shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot….” if your state gives them and you cannot vote regularly, get one of these!
4. if you live in a large city and expect lines, make sure you dress for the weather and bring a snack or two!
7. TIME magazine has a really great q&a article for other questions you may have tomorrow!
8. please take care of yourself. avoid social media and the news if you need too. hang out with people in your bubble and try to do something to distract yourself if you’re worried about the results!
i hope some of these links have helped and please feel free to share.
