13 minute read
The Voter's Guide
The Voter's Guide
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P R E S E N T E D B Y C U L T U R E T A L K
Research and writing created by Law and Government branches of Culture Talk:
Roxanne Holder-Kumer Katherine Chou Stormy Light Anusha Natarajan Yoojin Han Morgan Fowler Elizabeth Ovelil
A curated guide on how to vote, candidates, misconceptions, international elections, and the importance of voting
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The Voter's Guide
Section I Section II Section III Section IV Section V Section VI Section VII
Introduction to Voting (1)
Common Misconceptions (2)
Who is eligible to vote? (3-4)
How do I even vote? (5-7)
Picking Candidates (8)
World Elections (9-11)
Electoral Fraud and Voter Supression (12-13)
Section VIII
Conclusion (14)
www.theculturetalk.net | Arizona
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Section I: Introduction
We know what you’re thinking. You’re unsure of where to start. It seems like there is so much conflicting information swirling around this election. There is not only the pressure to make your vote count but also the uncertainty of whether or not it will matter. We felt this way too at first, so that’s why we’re here to offer you insight and advice on how to navigate the world of voting. You’ll find that it’s not as intimidating as it seems. First and foremost, this is a guide curated by Culture Talk’s Government and Law branches to walk you through your read. The guide covers common misconceptions, who is eligible to vote, research, how to vote, and world elections. The idea of voting and understanding government is about communication. It’s about listening and self-reflecting, skills that everyone needs to have regardless if you’re eligible to vote or not. We hope that you find this information useful because your vote, and your voice, count!
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Section II: Common Misconceptions
What are some misconceptions about voting?
Many people believe that their vote doesn’t matter. According to NPR, there have been “more than a dozen races over the last two decades determined by a single vote or ending in a tie”
Not every citizen is guaranteed the right to vote.
People assume that because someone is a citizen, they automatically have voting rights. In many states, there can be obstacles such as voter ID laws and registration restrictions that can prevent some individuals from voting.
Even if someone is registered to vote, they still may have to update their voter registration status if they have moved, changed their name, or are changing their political party affiliation. Individuals are also more and more concerned with voter fraud, but this is actually a rare occurrence. According to a study by Columbia University political scientist tracked voter fraud incidence rates and found that “the rare fraud that was reported generally could be traced to false claims by the loser of a close race, mischief, and administrative error" (Brenan Center)
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Section III: Who is eligible to vote?
Voting in the U.S.:
You can vote!...if you: Are a U.S. citizen Meet your state’s residency requirements
If you are homeless, you can still vote! It is recommended homeless registrants list a shelter address as their voting address where they could receive mail. Alternatively, homeless registrants may denote a street corner or a park as their residence, in lieu of a traditional home address. The federal voter registration form and many state forms provide a space for this purpose. Remember, the best source of information about these issues is your state or county election officials.
Are 18 years old on or before Election Day In almost every state, you can register to vote before you turn 18 if you will be 18 by Election Day: See a table of voter registration age requirements by state.
Are registered to vote by your state’s voter registration deadline
Who is not eligible to vote?: Non-citizens, including permanent and legal residents Some people with felony convictions. Rules vary by state. Check with your state's election office about the laws in your state.
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Section III: Who is eligible to vote? (Continued)
Some people who are mentally incapacitated. Rules vary by state. For president in the general election: U.S. citizens residing in U.S. territories.
Particularly with this year’s election allowing large amounts of online voting:
1. Make sure your vote is eligible to be counted 2. Fill your ballot properly (no stray marks, no coffee stains,...) 3. Make sure to sign the envelope you put the ballot in 4. When you sign, it must be the same signature as what your state has on file 5. Submit the additional documentation your state requires 6. Send your ballot early!
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Section IV: How do I Vote?
Register! (If you are eligible to vote you must first register!)
1. If you have a driver’s license or state ID number, you can register online in 40 states plus District of Columbia (can list if needed) https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-andcampaigns/electronic-or-online-voterregistration.aspx#Table%20of%20states%20w/ovr
2. you can use the link above to see if your state has online voting and it will direct you to the state’s website!
3.must have signature on file with motor vehicle agency (you do if you have a driver’s license.
Voting in a pandemic Mail-In/Absentee Voting: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, New Jersey, Utah, Vermont, and Washington are sending in a mail-in ballot to every voter Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas—require a justification for mail-in voting and will not accept fear of COVID-19 as adequate (https://www.consumerreports.org/voting/guide-to-votingduring-the-pandemic/) In the remaining 35 states, you can request a mail in ballot by updating your registration
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Section IV: How do I Vote? (Continued)
Citizens Abroad Some states allow you to vote abroad (this is based on your last residence in the U.S) Must submit Federal Post Card Application (call federal voting assistance program or visit U.S Embassy/Consulate)Local election officials will send an absentee ballot electronically or by mail Then send your ballot back via local mail/express courier service, email (some states permit electronic transmission), or drop off at a U.S Embassy Don’t forget to address your local election officials and use appropriate postage for overseas! If you have never resided in the U.S, you may be able to vote as well. Check state guidelines based on where your parent/guardian resided. https://www.fvap.gov/citizen-voter/reside What if I don’t have a driver’s license? https://www.vote.org/voter-id-laws/
Is voting safe/ reliable? Oregon, the first state to adopt a universal vote-by-mail system, had 15 identifiable cases of voter fraud in 15 million ballots cast over 19 years. Colorado has uncovered 14 cases of fraud out of a similar total since 2013, Utah has seen just one case of fraud in the past 970,000 ballots. (Per https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/thedemocrats-vote-by-mail-conund rum/616535/)
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Section IV: Tips!
Vote early if you can!
Common Mistakes to Avoid Make sure to use black ink when filling the ballot out Do not use a pencil or sharpie Sign the envelope Do not take photo of ballot Make sure to use the signature that you used when you registered to vote! Make sure to send your ballot on time!
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Section V: Picking Candidates
Picking a candidate to vote for is a process that one should not take lightly. Here are some easy steps that first time voters should consider before casting their vote.
1) Think about the issues that matter most to you, and write a list of top priority goals you would like the candidate to address
2) Research the candidate. It doesn't need to be extremely thorough but this is a good way to understand their views. (look at their campaign websites and click issues/priorities)
3) After researching, it is important to see which of your values connect /align with the running candidates.
Here are some questions to ask yourself which can be helpful for the process: - Which candidates view on issues do you agree with most? -Did the candidate run a fair campaign? -Does the candidate demonstrate knowledge on issues? -Which of the candidates has leadership qualities that you are looking for?
While these steps may sound mundane or overzealous, it is important to choose your candidate wisely. This is a chance to make your voice heard!
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Section VI: World Elections
Case Study: Ethiopian Election Ethiopia delayed presidential elections to 2021 because of COVID-19. Opposition leaders are worried that this delay could cause a strain in the pandemic response. In 2018, Ethiopia elected a new president Abiy Ahmed, the regime became more authoritarian. Recently, some of the local governments within Ethiopia are still holding elections despite the postponement of the elections to the next year. The Tigray region will be holding elections due to the poor communication and handling of the pandemic by the national government.
Case Study: Belarus The presidential election took place on August 30th. The race was between five term president Alexander Lukashenko, who is running for his sixth term. He has been president since Belarus gained independence in 1991 from the Soviet Union. He ran against Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. The election results showed that Lukashenko won by 80% over Tikhanovskaya’s 10%. Many human rights and international organizations were watching this election because it was not known to be a “free and fair election”. Lukashenko’s rival did not accept the results and called for a meeting with Lukashenko to focus on the transferral of power because she claimed to have won the majority of votes. Lukashenko denied that request and began to make moves on his inauguration. This election also gained international attention from countries around Europe and North America, such as the United Kingdom and Canada. As a result, protests began to break out throughout the country because of how corrupt this election was.
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Section VI: World Elections (Continued)
Case Study: New Zealand New Zealand holds a general election every three years with the last one being in 2017. Just this October, current Prime Minister Jacinda Arden was elected to serve as the prime minister again by a landslide victory. In addition in voting for members of the Parliament, people are also voting on a series of ballot measures, such as legalizing weed and euthanasia for terminally ill patients. The Labor Party (Arden’s party) won 64 out of the 120 legislative seats in the unicameral Parliament.
Case Study: Kyrgyzstan In the 2020 Kyrgyzstan parliamentary elections, there have been problems with rigged voting , leading for the results to be annulled. As a result, there have been protests occurring due to the lack of transparency in election results. This has led to the resignation of the prime minister, Kubatbek Boronov, and leading for the parliament to nominate the opposition leader, Sadyr Zhaparov. This situation has garnered attention and concern from other countries, such as Russia and China.
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Case Study: Compulsory voting in Australia The voting system in Australia, unlike the United States, has a compulsory voting system. Compulsory voting has showcased its positive implications of voter turnout-96.5 percent of the population are enrolled voters and even more surprisingly, 90% of those voters actually vote! Of course, in the name of compulsory voting, not voting in this system renders consequential impacts.
Section VI: World Elections (Continued)
(continued) If an Australian citizen does not vote, they are fined or an intense regulatory penalty. At first, citizens are fined approximated 20 dollars; however, if they have a sufficient reason as to why they did not vote, the fine is lifted. If these Australian voters consistently do not vote, there are more regulations in place to keep everyone in check. Failure to comply results in a series of forms and applications: Form 33, Form 34, Final Demand, Fines Enforcement Registry Referral. While this system encourages voter turnout, there are critics to this system. One critique of the compulsory system discerns that a citizen has the right to choose whether or not to vote. Another argument of the compulsory system argues that a high voter turnout does not necessarily equate to a knowledgeable voter turnout. As Jason Brennan, assistant professor of public policy at Georgetown University asserts, “Voters have noble intentions. Yet they have systematically false beliefs about basic economics, political science and foreign policy.” . This demonstrates that different voting systems have diverse issues and complications, one is not necessarily better than the other.
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Section VII: Electoral Fraud and Voter Supression
Electoral fraud means that there was an illegal interference with the process of an election.
This can take many forms: people who are ineligible to vote, who vote.-absentee ballot fraud: obtaining absentee voter ballots and filing it out without the knowledge of a voter. Voter impersonation: It is important to note that this is uncommon and does not occur often. One example of this occurring in the United States was the 2016 election by which social media accounts were linked to a Russian Internet Research Agency. These were programmed to provide false information and were responsible for attempting to sway the election.
Voter suppression is defined as “Voter suppression is any effort, either legal or illegal, by way of laws, administrative rules, and/or tactics that prevents eligible voters from registering to vote or voting”
Some of these tactics include: enforcing Voter I.D. laws, closing neighborhood polling places, restricting hours for early voting, making mail-in ballots harder to obtain, etc… These tactics undermine voter’s rights in order to sway the election. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was crucial in order to end voter suppression that was discriminatory.
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Section VII: Electoral Fraud and Voter Supression (Continued)
However in Shelby County v. Holder 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that section 5 of this act was no longer within the jurisdiction of the 14th and 15th amendment. This unfortunately resulted in states passing laws that suppressed voters rights, many of these states passing restrictions on voting. Many U.S. citizens are frightened that with the COVID-19 pandemic going on, there will be an increase in voter fraud and suppression. Voter fraud is very rare and is not the concern to stress over. What one should be cautious about are laws that enforce restrictions and to find ways to ensure your vote will count. Please refer to Section IV on how to ensure the safety of your ballot.
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Section VIII : Conclusion
Soon, 2020 will be coming to a close. Though it has been a long and tiresome year, the events that have occurred will shape the history that will be encapsulated in the books. One thing is true. People have a right to speak up and discuss the changes we want to see in our society. Despite our diversity in stories, experiences, or culture, it is our hope that binds us together in uncertainty. And while there are many ways to communicate your voice, like art or music or academically, voting carves our sphere of influence. When you choose to speak out, the people around you will either choose to listen or they ignore you. Still, it doesn’t matter. The act of speaking up is more courageous than being silent will ever be and that makes all the difference. As Culture Talk, we urge you to speak out and raise your voice.
*Sources *https://culturetalk10.wixsite.com/mysite/post/elections-happening-in-2020 *https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/10/world/africa/ethiopia-tigray-elections-abiy-crisis.html *https://www.usa.gov/voter-registration-age-requirements *https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/11/07/should-voting-in-the-us-be-mandatory-14/mandatory-voting-would-bea-disaster *(https://legalanswers.sl.nsw.gov.au/hot-topics-voting-and-elections/compulsory-voting-and-against) *https://news.stanford.edu/2018/11/30/case-mandatory-voting/ *https://www.psa.ac.uk/insight-plus/beyond-turnout-consequences-compulsory-voting *https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/vote-suppression *https://www.demandthevote.com/what-is-voter-suppression *https://www.voanews.com/2020-usa-votes/how-widespread-voter-fraud-us *http://www.smartvoter.org/voter/judgecan.htmlhttps://theconversation.com/fact-check-us-what-is-the-impact-of-russianinterference-in-the-us-presidential-election-146711 *https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-2-excuses-to-voteabsentee.aspxhttps://www.fvap.gov/citizen-voter/reside *https://www.vote.org/voter-id-laws/ *https://www.vote.org/voter-id-laws/ *https://www.vote.org/voter-id-laws/https://www.consumerreports.org/voting/guide-to-voting-during-the-pandemic/
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" VOTING IS NOT ONLY OUR
RIGHT-- IT IS OUR POWER."
-LOUNG UNG
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