Why vote? Step 1:  Register to vote

Step 2:  How to vote Step 3:  Vote informed
Step 4:  ☑ VOTE!

Step 5:  During the campaign, contact your neighbors Step 6:  Anytime, contact your elected officials Step 7:  Futures

Why vote?

Many elections are won or lost by less than one or two percent;  some by only a few tens or hundreds of votes.  It happens every election cycle.  When we vote, we do make a difference.

You 👥︎ Generation-Y and Generation-Z young people have more at stake than us geezers.  We boomers will help you while we can, but really, the future is up to you.

If you are Gen-Y, Gen-Z, or a cool Boomer who understands urban symbology, image from Eminem video Mosh, select to view explicit video please see Eminem explicit video Mosh above or to right, with support by the lyrics version.   For full effect, select the video image or link button, then icons ⛶ fullscreen, ㏄ captions, ▶︎ Play, and ⏯︎ ☒ Skip Ads.

This page provides some resources, to help you, with minimum work, VOTE:

If you think you might run into 🛂︎ trouble while voting, there are remedies.  Please review and 📄︎ print information in the 🛂︎ trouble section below.

Women weren't given the right to vote— they fought for it!   Remember that as your next election nears.

Let's get started!

Step 1:  Register to vote

Right now …

If you live in jurisdiction: and you wish to: then:
🇨🇦 Canada province Ontario ☑ Verify that I am Registered to vote ◦ See Elections Ontario.
Register to vote
🇺🇸 USA 50 states + DC ☑ Verify that I am Registered to vote ◦ See Election Protection coalition > select your state > expand section Registering to vote.
◦ Or I Will Vote > button Check if I'm registered to vote.
◦ Or VOTE411 > box Check Your Voter Registration Status > select your state > etc.
◦ Or go to your local city hall or township hall, or DMV or SoS office.
Register to vote
Registration deadline
Illinois ☑ Verify that I am Registered to vote ◦ See Illinois Online Voter Registration website.
◦ Or go to your local city hall or township hall, or DMV office.
Register to vote
Registration deadline
Michigan ☑ Verify that I am Registered to vote ◦ See Michigan Voter Information Center > show you are you.
If your Voter Registration address does not match your Drivers License address, you must reregister to vote as in the row below!
I moved since my last Registration ◦ By mail,  Adobe Acrobat Reader file or online ExpressSOS > link Update Address/Profile Details.
Register to vote by mail ◦ State of Michigan 📄︎ paper form.  Adobe Acrobat Reader file
Register to vote in-person ◦ See the clerk just inside the front door of your local city hall or township hall Michigan Voter Information Center page Your Clerk > section Search By Your Address.
◦ Or at your local Michigan Secretary of State branch office.   If you want, you could pre-fill the State of Michigan 📄︎ paper form.  Adobe Acrobat Reader file

Step 2:  How to vote

📅︎ A month before you vote, or now if you don't know when that might be, …

If you live in jurisdiction: and you wish to: then:
🇨🇦 Canada province Ontario When, where and how do I vote? ◦ See Elections Ontario > navigate Voting, and optional navigate Accessible Voting.
Accessible voting methods
🇺🇸 USA 50 states + DC When is the next election? ◦ See Election Protection coalition > select your state > scroll down a bit.
◦ Or VOTE411 > fill out section Personalized Voting Information > button Submit.
Where do I vote? ◦ See VOTE411 > fill out section Personalized Voting Information > button Submit.
How do I vote early or absentee? ◦ See VOTE411 > fill out section Personalized Voting Information > button Submit > link Absentee Ballot.
◦ Or Election Protection coalition > select your state > expand section Voting Early & by Absentee Ballot.
📄︎ Print a sample ballot ◦ See I Will Vote > button Check if I'm registered to vote > fill it out and keep going—details will depend on your state.

Then 📄︎ print this—yes, it is legal to print what is on your ballot, 📝︎ mark it up, and bring with you into the voting booth!
California each of these questions ◦ Five weeks before the election, you should be mailed a 📄︎ booklet containing all this information, including a printed sample ballot, and a tear-off postcard to request an absentee ballot!
Illinois When is the next election? ◦ See Illinois State Board of Elections > banner at top or right, or under section Upcoming Events.
Where do I vote? ◦ Illinois State Board of Elections > navigate Information For Voters.
◦ Or go to your local city hall or township hall, or DMV office.
How do I vote early or absentee?
📄︎ Print a sample ballot
Michigan When is the next election? ◦ See Michigan Voter Information Center > show you are you.
Where do I vote?
How do I vote early or absentee? ◦ See VOTE411 > link Early Voting or Absentee Ballot Process.
◦ Or Michigan Voter Information Center > navigation link Absentee Voting.
◦ Or go to the clerk just inside the front door of your local city hall or township hall Michigan Voter Information Center page Your Clerk > section Search By Your Address.
📄︎ Print a sample ballot ◦ If at above webpage > link View Your Sample Ballot.
◦ Or Michigan Voter Information Center > navigation link View Ballots by Precinct.
◦ Or easy one-page Michigan 2018 sample ballot with state-wide issues only.  Adobe Acrobat Reader file (page 40)

Then 📄︎ print this—yes, it is legal to print what is on your ballot, 📝︎ mark it up, and bring with you into the voting booth!

While you are printing stuff, if you think you might run into 🛂︎ trouble while voting, please 📄︎ print anything you might need from the 🛂︎ trouble section below.

As it gets closer to time to vote, you will use your sample ballot to …

Step 3:  Vote informed

A few days before you vote (I like Sunday, after the kids are in bed), …

Take your 📄︎ sample ballot (from the previous step ) (paper is better—your 🛂︎ poll workers may have rules against using a phone in the voting booth),
and 📝︎ mark it up in accordance with your values, and information from (sorted by mixture of usefulness and alphabetical):

While you go through this information, don't be afraid to vote for the lessor of two evils.  Until we get instant-runoff / preferential / ranked-choice voting RCV described below we may have to hold our nose, and choose the least offensive candidate.

Step 4:  ☑ Vote!

☑ Vote when, where and how you found out back in Step 2.

If voting in person, on that day, …

If any 🛂︎ trouble while voting, in the 🇺🇸 USA, contact the:

  — 🇺🇸 ACLU series Know Your Rights Voter Intimidation 📄︎ printable card  Adobe Acrobat Reader file
      ( Michigan ACLU Know Your Voting Rights in English 📄︎ [.pdf] en Español 📄︎ [.pdf] in Arabic 📄︎ [.pdf]  بالعربية ).

If you see something, say something!

If you expect 🛂︎ police contact, what to do with your electronics.  Adobe Acrobat Reader file (page 19)

After you vote:

Step 5:  During the campaign, contact your neighbors

Talk to your neighbors!  Knock on doors for your favorite candidate!  Run yourself!  Or if introverted, …

photo showing We Believe yardsign, select to order If you believe:

then order signs like above or at right, and display in your yard.

If your yard signs get stolen by kids or thugs, 📱︎☎ call me, and I'll tell you how to reduce this greatly, restoring your constitutionally-protected free speech.

Step 6:  Anytime, contact your elected officials

🚧 Under construction

In our polarized safe-seat gerrymandered culture-war world, I am not so sure contacting our elected officials does as much good as it did before.  Maybe at the local level it does.  Local meetings are great.  As are chance encounters at the hardware store—so have your elevator pitch ready.

Until demographic-shifts end of our culture-war, some contact info:  🇺🇸 USA 50 states + DC   Michigan.

Step 7:  Futures

[Medium]:  Automatic Voter Registration AVR, or Same-Day Registration SDR aka Election Day Registration EDR

If you:

then support:

[Hard]:  Gerrymandering

If you:

then support an end to gerrymandering "Geometry versus Gerrymandering."  Scientific American.  . (Michigan Radio story) (Michigan organization Voters Not Politicians).
For full effect, view the videos above or to right by selecting a video image, then icons ⛶ fullscreen, ㏄ captions, ▶︎ Play, and ⏯︎ ☒ Skip Ads.

If you live in Michigan, thanks to the approval of ballot initiative Proposal 2, until , you can apply to be on our state's Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission:

  1. Write a 100-word (or so) essay "Why do you want to serve on the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission?"
    I wrote mine in my favorite document software, spell-checked and grammar-checked;  then Copy-Pasted into the application website below.
  2. Write a 100-word (or so) essay "Describe why or how you affiliate with either the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, or why you don't affiliate with either?"
    I wrote mine in my favorite document software, spell-checked and grammar-checked;  then Copy-Pasted into the application website below.
  3. Information.
    Apply.
  4. You will end up with your application on paper, which you must get notarized.
    I tried at my local SoS office, but their people had not yet received their notary stuff.
    So I got mine notarized for free at my bank.
    Free Notary Services.
  5. I scanned the document, just in case I need it in the future.
  6. I turned it in at the box at my local SoS office.
Done!  Waiting to hear back.

[Harder]:  Instant-runoff / preferential / ranked-choice voting RCV

graphic showing Raked Choice Voting, select to read about RCV in Michigan If you:

then support instant-runoff / preferential / ranked-choice voting RCV (at Yang2020.com) as used in Maine and 11 US cities,
replacing the winner-takes-all / single-winner plurality / first-past-the-post electoral system currently existing in most of our States, with all of its flaws described above.

[Hardest]:  Align political boundaries with Watersheds

If you:

then work to align political boundaries with watershed boundaries.

For example, using 🇺🇸 USA EPA map on ArcGIS > icon with four squares Select a Basemap > map USGS National Map, I would live in the neighborhood of Little Carl Creek, county/​parish/​borough/​municipio of Lower Grand, and state or nation of Lawrencia.

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