Should've Said Vote
just a voter, trying to find a place in this world
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Swifties for Kamala wants to make sure everyone has all the information they need to cast their vote this November, whether it’s your first or thirteenth time at the polls. This very special edition of Paint The Town Blue is geared towards first-time voters of all kinds, but also has all the information you’ll need whether you plan to vote in person, absentee, or from overseas.
If you find this information useful, we encourage you to share it with voters in your life looking for a place in this world.
Debut was born on Oct. 24, 2006, which means she’s turning 18 right in time for the 2024 election! She’s excited to cast her first vote, but she’s feeling overwhelmed by all the voter registration information and doesn’t know where to start.
Debut should check the voter registration deadlines in her state and register before the deadline!
She visits iwillvote.com and selects her state from the drop-down menu, from here she can register to vote online or by mail, see the registration deadline for her state, and learn about her state’s ID requirements.
Debut decides to register online. She follows the prompts, submits her registration, and eagerly awaits her registration confirmation!
Not all states allow online registration, but iwillvote.com will direct you to your state’s board of elections website where you can learn more about your state’s specific requirements. If your state only accepts registration via mail, the earlier you do this the better to ensure you have no problems casting your ballot come Election Day!
iwillvote.com has a voter hotline ready to answer any questions you have! Text VOTE to 70888 or call 833-336-8683.
Even though Debut will be 18 on Election Day, her birthday is after the voter registration deadline in her state. Someone told her that would make her ineligible to vote this year, but it doesn’t! Most states allow you to register to vote if you will be 18 on Election Day, even if you’re still 17 when you submit your information. Click here to learn more about your state’s rules on this.
Debut knows she’ll be voting for president on Election Day and knows there are other races, but isn’t sure which ones apply to her, or even how to find that information.
Ballotpedia.org is a great tool for this! Debut enters her address, selects the November 2024 election, and can see every race and ballot measure that will be on her ballot. She clicks around the site to read more about down-ballot races and the candidates running.
A down-ballot race is a race that appears further down a ballot, as the name suggests! It’s usually a race that isn’t as well-known as perhaps the presidential or a Senate race, but these down-ballot races can still have a serious impact in states and local communities. Debut can read this Politico piece from earlier this year that explains why filling out an entire ballot is so important, including in the upcoming November election!
Ballotpedia.org is a great resource for Debut to see if her state has any ballot measures she needs to know about and vote on. A ballot measure can vary from state to state, but some topics covered in recent ballot measures that voters across the U.S. have weighed in on include abortion, marijuana, and education.
Ballotpedia.org will also tell her what casting a yes vote or casting a no vote would mean on specific ballot measures, since the language ballot measures are written in can sometimes be confusing.
Debut is planning to vote in-person on Election Day, so she circles November 5 on her calendar. She might even wear a little black dress for the occasion!
After all this time, Mary is going to college in a different state than where her family lives, so she’s wondering — should she request an absentee ballot from her home state or vote in-person in her college state? It depends! Vote.gov offers this helpful breakdown of what she should consider before officially deciding.
Also important to know — some states have rules about living there for a certain amount of time before an election, so first Mary should find her current state at this link, which will redirect her to her state’s election website for the answers she needs on whether she’s eligible to vote in her new state.
But what if Mary knows her home state is a swing state, or perhaps she’s passionate about voting for a local election there that she knows will impact her family and home community?
Every state in the U.S. allows requests for absentee ballots, but each state has different rules for who can request one. And some states — such as California, Nevada, and Washington — automatically send absentee ballots to all registered voters.
This handy link at vote.org has a drop-down menu with each state so Mary can see if she is allowed to request an absentee ballot, any restrictions or key details she needs to know about, important deadlines for requesting or returning her absentee ballot, and more.
And since it’s important to make sure absentee ballots are returned in time, Mary can go to this link to see when her absentee ballot is due and how she can track it to make sure it’s received.
With her absentee ballot requested and on its way, she’s a first-time voter on a mission and she’s ready to fly!
Drew and his friends decided to take a gap year and are currently traveling abroad, but they’re also aware that voting back home is important! The good news is that they don’t have to be on the outside — but it’s time for them to go and request their ballots!
They can log onto votefromabroad.org to find their home state and follow the next steps for requesting their ballots while overseas. (Important note — they have to do this every year if they want to continue to vote as a U.S. citizen while staying in a different country!)
They can also get their top questions answered in this FAQ section. And if they still need some extra help, they can join a Zoom call or request an appointment for some one-on-one assistance!
Drew met a fellow American, Tim, who has lived overseas his entire life but his parents are Americans and still vote in U.S. elections. Drew and Tim are both wondering — can Tim vote in a U.S. election? It depends! If Tim’s parents last lived in a state that allows Tim to also vote using their old address, he can! Tim can get the answers to his questions here or here and see whether he’s allowed to vote.
If Debut, Mary, Drew, or Tim are fans of choose-your-own-adventure games, they can take this interactive journey of gathering all the information they need in one handy location to confidently vote in the upcoming election!
Time to grab a pen and an old napkin and write down your plan to vote!