November 1, 2024

Surely by now, you’ve heard someone in a rally or a political ad use the phrase, “Make a plan to vote.” The first time I heard it, I was a little flummoxed. “Make a plan?” I thought. “All you have to do is go in, fill in a bubble, and you’re done. What do you have to plan for?” It’s worth delving into that phrase to see what may be involved.

The Pennsylvania Department of State has a couple of excellent websites that cover a lot of territory about elections: Vote.PA.Gov and PAVoterServices.PA.Gov. But sometimes we need things spelled out a bit more. A lot of the information that I’m about to share is taken from an article by Katie Knol for WITF, the local NPR/PBS station in central PA, and please be aware that a lot of this information is indeed Pennsylvania-specific. If you’re not from the Keystone State, please double check the laws and regulations for your area.

Katie breaks things down into five basic steps:

1. Check your voter registration
2. Confirm your polling place
3. Plan a time to vote
4. Know what to bring
5. Vote

Let’s look at each step a little more closely.

1. Check your voter registration

First up is checking on your voter registration, which you can do here by providing your name, driver’s license, or PennDOT ID card number. You can also call your local county elections office (go here to find contact information).

If you’ve never registered before, the deadline was October 21, so you can’t vote this year. However, if your registration is just inactive (meaning you haven’t voted in two federal elections), then you can fill out a form at the elections office to reactive your registration.

2. Confirm your polling place

Polling places can change! If you’re in a voting precinct that has moved its polling place, you should have received a letter in the mail notifying you of the new location. Regardless, if you’re not sure, once again, you can find out for certain at the Dept of State’s website here.

3. Plan a time to vote

It should come as no surprise that presidential elections tend to be busier than other elections, so it’s a good idea to think about when will be the best time of day to get there. The polls will be open in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, November 5, from 7:00 AM until 8:00 PM, and be aware: if you’re in line before 8:00 PM, you will be allowed to vote.

The busiest times for the polls are typically first thing in the morning, around lunchtime, and near the end of the typical workday. If you’re able to vote mid-morning or mid-afternoon, those are when lines (and wait-times) tend to be shortest.

4. Know what to bring

If you’ve never voted in a particular precinct before, it is a state law that you must present a valid form of identification. This can include: a driver’s license (or PennDOT ID card), an ID issued by the state or federal government, a U.S. passport, a U.S. military ID, a student ID, most employee IDs, a firearm permit, a confirmation issued by your County Voter Registration Office, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government check that includes your name and address.

If you don’t have any of these, you will still be able to vote with a provisional ballot, but this has to go through an extra confirmation step with the county to confirm your eligibility.

Also, be aware of what not to bring! There are 21 states that have statutes banning “electioneering apparel” at the polls, meaning that you can’t walk into a voting precinct wearing a shirt or hat (or even a button or sticker) emblazoned with a particular candidate’s name or slogan. Pennsylvania is not one of these states, so my fellow Commonwealth citizens don’t need to worry about this. But be forewarned if you live in: Arkansas, California, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, or Vermont.

5. Vote!

This may seem to be the most obvious step, but it’s really the most complicated one — there’s more to pick than just the president! I strongly encourage you to research the candidates that will be on your ballot (which you can easily do at BallotReady.org) so you know who else to vote for. Other resources include Ballotpedia.org, Vote411.org, and the League of Women Voters, all of which offer non-partisan information about who will be on your ballot and their stances on different issues. Also, you are allowed to bring notes or even your phone with you into the voting booth so you can remind yourself easily of who you want to pick!

I hope this is helpful information. Please feel free to share this with others, because in order for our government to function best for the people, it needs input from the people!