Peace of Mind Organizing

Do you have a plan to vote?

23 October 2024

Here in the U.S. a very important election is happening on November 5. I am thrilled to say I voted today!

We now have early in-person voting in Missouri (called “no-excuse absentee voting”) at a few designated polling places. I’m lucky because there’s a polling place, the Schlafly Branch of the St. Louis Public Library, just two blocks from my home. This makes voting for president so much easier than it was in 2016 when I stood in a line that went outside the door on Election Day and in 2020 when, in the height of the pandemic, I opted to vote absentee by mail but had to get my ballot notarized. (As an aside, that’s why I became a Notary Public. If you live in St. Louis and need an absentee ballot notarized, I’m happy to help. Just email me.)

Early voting in Missouri started yesterday. I’ve been anxious to vote but when I took a close look at the sample ballot that was mailed to me, I realized I needed to spend some time doing research. The meaty ballot included 13 offices, 19 judges, five constitutional amendments, one statewide proposition, and four city propositions. The judges have no party affiliation so I went to Your Missouri Judges to check out the ones who were on my sample ballot. The whole process took a little while.

It also took longer than usual to vote, with so many little boxes to fill in. (At my polling place voting on paper ballot was the only option.)

This is why I encourage you to have a plan to vote. Depending on where you live you might need to do some research in advance like I did. If you can, I suggest voting early. You might avoid lines. (I was pleasantly surprised to have to stand in line for ten minutes or so…the polling place was hopping!) And if there were some sort of problem with your registration, this would give you time to work it out. For more information on voting in your state, check out Vote411.

Voting is a privilege. It’s not always easy. But it’s up to us to make sure we can exercise our privilege. Please make a plan to vote!

Tagged with: election, notary, planning, voting

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