Election 2020 is less than 50 days away and may go down as the most consequential election any of us will ever vote in. The political landscape is contentious, fraught, and genuinely dangerous for many Americans. But with attacks on the Post Office, mail-in ballot confusion, a pandemic that experts warn is still in its initial wave, social unrest, and whatever other stressors exist in your life, we don’t blame you for lagging on your voting plan for November 3rd.
Let us help you get organized and make a plan. First off, are you registered to vote? Will you be voting in person or by mail? Interested in early voting? Looking for other ways to help? Do you live in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Texas? Because if so, you need to get registered before the start of next week — so get on that!
This election is going to be a difficult one on every level. Poll closures, a lack of election volunteers, and different state rules on mail-in ballots are setting us up for an absolute sh*tshow, and whether you’re a longtime voter or a someone who is voting for the first time, you shouldn’t have any expectations about how the process will go down.
Here’s everything you need to do right now to prepare for the 2020 Election. Which is on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020. Lock it in.
STEP 1: Register to Vote/Check Your Voter Registration
Are you registered to vote? If not, what the hell are you waiting for? It’s definitely time to register if you haven’t. If you are already registered to vote but for some reason have a sneaking suspicion that you’ve been removed from a voter roll or you’re just (reasonably) paranoid, head to Vote.org, which has links to check your voter registration for each state.
Please note that while several states allow you to register to vote in person on Election Day if you’ve missed your state’s deadline, we are living in pandemic times, so how available and convenient that process is may vary on a county to county basis.
Here’s an easy, UPROXX-supported way to register online:
Or you can follow these instructions for your state:
Alabama — October 19th, 2020. Alabama voters register here.
Alaska — October 4th, 2020. Alaska voters register here.
Arizona — October 5th, 2020. Arizona voters register here.
Arkansas — October 5th, 2020. Arkansas does not offer online registration. Fill out an application to vote in Arkansas here.
California — California voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered by October 19th, 2020. California voters register here.
Colorado — Colorado voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered by October 26th, 2020. Colorado voters register here.
Connecticut — Connecticut voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered by October 27th, 2020. Connecticut voters register here.
Delaware — October 10th. Delaware voters register here.
Florida — October 5th. Florida voters register here.
Georgia — October 5th, Georgia voters register here.
Hawaii — Hawaii voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered by October 5th, 2020. Hawaii voters register here.
Idaho — Idaho voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t register by October 9th, 2020. Idaho voters register here.
Illinois — Illinois voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by October 6th, 2020 for mail-in applications, and October 18th, 2020 for online applications. Illinois voters register here.
Indiana — October 5th, 2020. Indiana voters register here.
Iowa — Iowa voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by October 24th, 2020. Iowa voters register here.
Kansas — October 13th. Kansas voters register here.
Kentucky — October 5th, 2020. Kentucky voters register here.
Louisiana — October 5th, 2020 if registering in person or by mail. October 13th to register online. Louisiana voters register here.
Maine — Maine voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by October 13th, 2020. Maine does not offer online voter registration, voters must register at their town hall. For more information on register to vote in Maine, click here.
Maryland — Maryland voters can register to vote on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by October 13, 2020. Maryland voters register here.
Massachusetts — October 24th, 2020. Massachusetts voters register here.
Michigan — Michigan voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by October 19th, 2020. Michigan voters register here.
Minnesota — Minnesota voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote in person by October 13th, 2020. Minnesota voters register here.
Mississippi — October 5th, 2020. Mississippi does not offer online voter registration and voters must register to vote 30 days prior to Election Day either in person or by mail. To learn more about registering to vote in Missippi click here.
Missouri — October 7th, 2020. Missouri voters register here.
Montana — Montana voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by October 5th, 2020. Montana does not offer online voter registration. To learn more about register to vote in Montana, click here.
Nebraska — October 16th, 2020 for voters registering by mail on online, October 23rd, 2020 for voters voting in person. Nebraska voters register here.
Nevada — Nevada voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by October 6th, 2020 by mail or in person, or October 29th, 2020 online. Nevada voters register here.
New Hampshire — New Hampshire voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by October 21st, 2020. New Hampshire does not offer online voter registration, voters must register in person or via mail. To find out more information about voting in New Hampshire, click here.
New Jersey — October 13th, 2020. New Jersey voters register here.
New Mexico — October 6th, 2020, or October 31, 2020, if registering in person. New Mexico voters register here.
New York — October 9th, 2020. New York voters register here.
North Carolina — October 9th, 2020, or October 15th-31st to register in person. North Carolina voters register here.
North Dakota — North Dakota is doing it right. You do not need to register to vote in the state of North Dakota, just bring valid ID and proof of residency to vote. North Dakota voters find your polling place here.
Ohio — October 5th, 2020. Ohio voters register here.
Oklahoma — October 9th, 2020. Oklahoma does not allow online voter registration, voters must print-out an application and mail it to their local election office. To print out an application, click here.
Oregon — October 13th, 2020. Oregon voters register here.
Pennsylvania — October 19th, 2020. Pennsylvania voters register here.
Rhode Island — Rhode Island voters can register to vote in person on Election Day (on Presidential Election Years) if they haven’t registered to vote by October 4th, 2020. Rhode Island voters register here.
South Carolina — October 2nd, 2020 in person, October 4th, 2020 online, or October 5th, 2020 by mail. South Carolina voters register here.
South Dakota — October 19th, 2020. South Dakota does not allow online voter registration. Voters must print-out an application and mail it to their local election office. To print out an application, click here.
Tennesse — October 5th, 2020. Tennessee voters register here.
Texas — October 5th, 2020. Texas does not offer online voter registration. Voters must print out an application and send it to their local election office. To print out an application, click here.
Utah — Utah voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by October 23rd, 2020. Utah voters register here.
Vermont — Vermont voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by November 3rd, 2020. Vermont voters register here.
Virginia — October 13th, 2020. Virginia voters register here.
Washington — Washington voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by October 26th, 2020. Washington voters register here.
Washington D.C. — D.C. voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by October 13th, 2020. Washington D.C. does not allow for online registration, voters must register by mail or in person. For more information on voting in Washington D.C. click here.
West Virginia — October 13th, 2020. West Virginia voters register here.
Wisconsin — Wisconsin voters can register to vote in person on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by October 14th, 2020 online or by mail, or October 30th, 2020 in person. Wisconsin voters register here.
Wyoming — Wyoming voters can register in-person to vote on Election Day if they haven’t registered to vote by October 19th, 2020 by mail. Wyoming voters must register to vote via mail in the presence of a notary or in person. For more information on voting in Wyoming, click here.
Decide If You Want To Vote By Mail
Like registering to vote, the rules for voting by mail differ from state to state. The rules can get so complicated, that an entire article is needed just to cover each rule. Luckily for you, we already put that one together.
If you’d like to learn how to register to vote by mail for your state, go here.
Research Your State’s Propositions, Local Politicians, And Sheriffs
There is a very good chance that if you’re voting for the first time or don’t often engage in the political process, you’re heading to the polls (or voting by mail) for the sole reason of voting for who you believe should be our president. That’s fair — but since you’re heading to the polls, you might as well vote for everything you can. That means state propositions, local offices, and, on some occasions, who you believe the sheriff of your county, the mayor of your town, or the governor of your state should be. Do you have a bone to pick with how your mayor or governor has handled the pandemic? Let them know at the polls. Not happy with the police response to the ongoing protests in your area this spring and summer? Definitely check in on if someone is running for sheriff and whether they have a record of conduct or an opinion on law enforcement you don’t agree with.
Think your state should legalize weed, raise taxes, lower taxes, provide more benefits for people working in the gig economy? Your state has at least one or two propositions that you probably feel very strongly about. Let your opinion be known, decisions that happen on the state and local level are the type of governance that you can truly feel and see.
It’s really not enough to blindly vote along party lines. Don’t vote for that judge or official just because they have Republican or Democratic affiliation, look into their record, and decide if this is someone you feel good about voting for. You might find yourself skipping out on certain positions because you don’t agree with either candidate, that’s totally okay too!
Volunteer To Be A Poll Worker (If You Can)
In a perfect world, we would’ve all been registered to vote by mail automatically. But we’d also like to remind you that in a perfect world, we wouldn’t be living through a pandemic. We have no real choice but to play the cards we were dealt — and if we want this election to go down as smoothly as possible, we need to seriously consider becoming poll workers this year. If you’ve ever voted before, you may have noticed that a vast majority of the smiling faces you see at the polls who are there to give you a ballot and that coveted “I Voted” sticker are old. Grandmas, grandpas, swinging seniors… over half of all poll workers in the 2016 election were over the age of 60.
That’s not great, especially considering older people, and people with compromised immune systems are particularly susceptible to COVID-19. Which means this election needs healthy young people to put themselves at risk. So if you’re young and healthy and aren’t terrified of the possibility of catching COVID-19 (or have a preexisting condition), you should volunteer to be a poll worker (if you can).
After Election Day, you should limit your contact with people until you can get tested for COVID-19. It’s going to suck and be an inconvenience, but as we mentioned before — this election is pretty damn important. If you’re interested, Crooked Media has an easy portal for registering to be trained as a poll worker at your local polling place.