Election Recommendations
Posted by DAWN at 5:10 PM Miscellaneous | DAWN Website Updates
Election Day is Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Please vote and tell others you know to do the same. Issues that are important to the disability community like creating jobs, improving the availability of health care, and support for community-based programs will be decided.
There are going to be long lines on Election Day with a predicted record number of people voting. The Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition (WDVC) has some recommendations for you when you vote to make your wait shorter.
1. If you think you are registered to vote, make sure. Visit the Voter Public Access web site at <https://vpa.wi.gov/>. Here you will be able to check to see that you are on the statewide voter registration list, find out where to vote, and much more.
2. If you are not registered to vote, do that before Election Day. Go to your clerk’s office and bring the proper materials to register. Of course you can register at the polls on Election Day, but that means that you will have to wait in another line.
3. Vote early. You can vote early with an absentee ballot. Right now you have to do this in person at your clerk’s office. You have until the close of business on Monday, November 3, 2008 to do this.
4. Bring identification to the polls. There is likely to be some confusion at the polls this year for a variety of reasons. Be prepared for this and bring identification such as a driver’s license, state identification card, or something that shows that you have lived at your current residence at least 10 days.
5. Vote for each office separately. Do not vote a straight party ticket. There have reports that some types of voting machines are not counting votes for some offices, if you vote a straight ticket. Make your vote count and mark each office that you want to vote for.
6. Report problems. If you have any problem or have a question about voting, call the Disability Rights Wisconsin hotline at 1-800-928-8778 or TTY at 1-888-758-6049. This will be staffed from 8:00 AM until 8:00 PM.
You can also call the national Election Protection hotline at 1-866-687-8683.
Visit the WDVC web site for election and voting information.