I thought this might be of special interest to various people on this board- especially anyone with a child who is registered to vote at their college but may lack transportation.
Carpool Vote is a service that connects volunteer drivers with passengers who need rides to the polls before or on election day. I’m going to be a volunteer on election day and have already connected with a few people who otherwise wouldn’t have a way to get to the polls. It’s non-partisan.
I firmly believe that any and all barriers to voting must be torn down- regardless of which political party or ideology you support.
Anyway, if anyone needs a ride or is wiling and able to volunteer, I encourage you to check this out!
Many places give rides. In 1972, I was volunteering at a party headquarters and we spent most of the day picking up older people and taking them to the polling place. We were the minority party in this county and every vote was important.
We vote entirely by mail now, but a person can collect up to 10 ballots for delivery to a box.
Our state is offering free lyft rides for all HI residents to get between their home to and from polls, up to $10 each way. We have one of the lowest election turnouts in the US, sadly.
NBC Nightly News had a segment last week on Oregon and their paper ballots which go to everyone and are mailed back or delivered to secure drop spots. I can’t remember the two other states doing this. We should all be doing this to save money and to secure our electoral system. Voter response would improve and that benefits us all. I phone banked on Saturday and spoke to one person who couldn’t drive herself and another who has to work and who can’t vote on Tuesday. We need to make it easier for everyone, regardless of party affiliation. One of my friends is running for the state legislature and if she wins on Tuesday, I’m going to start bending her ear on this after she gets a few days to recover from non-stop door knocking and rubber chicken dinners:)
Washington is also all mail-in voting. We all receive ballots in the mail 2+ weeks in advance and fill them in at our leisure. They can be either mailed back (no postage required) or dropped in a secure ballot box. Mine is at the library branch 1/2 mile from my house.
I’ll check online tomorrow to see if it was processed. Easy-peasey.
No standing in line, no absentee registration, no fuss. Now if I could just figure out how to stop all of the ads.
I did notice that lyft will do half price rides to the ballot boxes.
Also in 30 states, you are entitled to time off work to vote if polls aren’t open at least 2 hours before or after your workday;check your state’s laws at businessinsider.com.
I work as an election inspector and am hoping for a busy, busy day on Tuesday. My state (NY) doesn’t have early voting, except at places like nursing homes and assisted living centers, where inspectors go and have the people fill out ballots, and the only mail in votes are absentee ballots. I made sure that S17 had his absentee ballot and nagged him every day until he mailed it. I felt that his vote was more important down where we all live than in the county where he goes to school.
I don’t know anything about getting rides or the carpool vote concept, but they are great ideas. If my middle sons weren’t also working as election inspectors, I would volunteer a car and my boys as drivers for such a program.
I tell everyone I meet to vote. If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.
Colorado is the third ‘all mail’ ballots. You can mail them back but it does cost $.71. There are tons of boxes to drop them in, at the old voting places, at voting centers that have been open for weeks, at a few extra places that are open this weekend through Tues., and at the bus and light rail stations. Very convenient.
I received an email today that my ballot had been received and processed.
If you know of polling places with people waiting in long lines, you can report it here and they will send free pizza to the people in line: https://polls.pizza/
First person I shuttled was an elderly Black woman and her husband. She was so excited and told me about how she couldn’t vote when she was younger and that as soon as her mom could, she’d walk to the polling place no matter the weather.
