Election Day is here. For some voters, it’s already a nightmare.
Shantae Martin is a lifelong Virginian who cast her first ballot for Barack Obama. But the 37-year-old recently found out through a notice in the mail that her voter registration had been canceled, supposedly because she’s a noncitizen.
“I was confused, to be honest. I was born and raised in Woodbridge, Virginia, so you’ve got everything about me and now you’re saying that I’m an alien,” she told NBC4 Washington. “Why would you let me vote before and not now?”
Martin is one of 1,600 Virginians who have been kicked off voter rolls since August, swept up in Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s controversial purge.
“We didn’t expect we’d be doing this fight right now, and it’s targeted,” Solomon Ayalew, the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia chapter director for African Communities Together, an immigrant rights organization that’s challenging the program, told Capital B’s Christina Carrega. “When you look at the rolls and who was purged, a lot of them are recently naturalized, a lot of them are Black and brown.”
While 1,600 may seem small, he added, the point isn’t the number — it’s the fact that this is happening at all.
Fortunately for Martin, Virginia is a same-day voter registration state. This means that qualified residents can register and vote in one fell swoop (in Virginia, they can even do this on Election Day). If this purge had happened in a state where there’s a waiting period, those who had been wrongfully purged may have been forced to sit out the election.
This incident reminded me of a piece of advice that a friend casually gave me a few weeks ago: Double-check your voter registration status to make sure that there are no shenanigans going on. The National Conference of State Legislatures has a handy interactive map illustrating which states have same-day voter registration that I recommend you check out.
But registration status isn’t the only thing you need to think about as you head to the polls. Below is a brief guide laying out three other things to keep in mind as you prepare to cast your ballot and make your voice heard.
Maybe rethink what you’re wearing
At an elections journalism fellowship I participated in over the summer, the head of the Detroit branch of the NAACP joked about how, after Harris ascended to the top of the Democratic Party ticket, his wife was dressed from head to toe in Harris merch.
When his wife goes to vote, however, she’ll have to leave her merch at home. The swing state of Michigan bans voters from wearing to the polls “any material that directly or indirectly makes reference to an election, a candidate, or a ballot question.”
Michigan is hardly the only state with prohibitions. To allow people to vote in peace, states outlaw “electioneering,” or advocating for a specific party or candidate, within a certain distance of a polling place.
In many states, this includes apparel — badges, buttons, banners, and so on — that might indicate your political preference.
I highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with the NCSL’s page on electioneering restrictions near polling places before you decide to make a political fashion statement at the ballot box.
Know how to report threats
As I wrote in September, election workers are on high alert, fearing the rising abuse that they’ve been confronted with since the 2020 presidential election, when former President Donald Trump falsely claimed that Democrats rigged the contest.
But voters also should be careful this election season. About 70% of local election officials believe that the threat of violence is a greater issue now than it was in 2020, according to a survey from New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice published in May.
Before you head to your designated polling place, figure out your options for reporting threats or disturbing behavior. You can call the Election Protection coalition’s hotline (866-OUR-VOTE) or the U.S. Department of Justice’s voting rights hotline (800-253-3931). But you might also have state-specific options.
The electoral battleground of Pennsylvania, for instance, has launched an election hotline, operated by its Department of State. You can call (877) VOTESPA to report threats of violence, or you can submit a complaint online.
And in North Carolina, another swing state, advocates are boosting the poll presence of Black attorneys, in case a voter is concerned about something and wants to turn to a trusted community messenger for help.
Think twice about taking that selfie
It’s a completely understandable impulse: You’ve just participated in one of our country’s most sacred acts — voting — and now you want to snap a quick selfie with your ballot to mark the occasion.
But is that allowed? Well, it depends on the state you’re in.
In dozens of states, including California and Virginia, you can take a photo with your ballot. In three states — Arizona, Florida, and West Virginia — you’re only permitted to take a photo of your absentee or mail-in ballots, and you must do so at home. In other states, including Texas and South Carolina, photos are out of the question, period. Then, there are a handful of states where the rules aren’t obvious.
USA Today has a great breakdown of all the states’ selfie policies.
Be sure to check your local voting regulations or consult with your local election officials before you do something that incurs a fine or some other kind of penalty. Even in states where you can snap that selfie, there may be rules about when you can share your photo.
The post Vibe Check: What Every Black Voter Should Know for Election Day appeared first on Capital B News.
