Hello Freeport, and the rest of the world!
This is your yearly reminder that, in fact, you have a say over your government! In fact, it's a right! YOUR right! That you should USE! (Yes, today I am abusing capslock, a bit) I realize I'm getting this out a bit late (I was voter number 274 at my polling place, for what it's worth!), but busy days are busy. And
you're probably busy, too!
So, here's some helpful information to answer most of your likely questions!
Here's a guide to help you figure out how to vote!
- "
What if I'm not sure that I'm registered to vote, or where I'd even go to do it!" Don't feel bad, you're not alone.
Nassau County's Board of Elections Website has you covered, just check in here to see your registration status
and polling place!
Now, it
is too late to register in New York State (we don't have what's called "Same Day Registration," and in fact have some pretty terrible registration laws...), but even if you haven't voted in an election or two, New York isn't
too bad about
keeping you registered, so don't be afraid to take a minute and check!
-
"What if I can't get there?!" Especially with bad weather like we have today, it can seem really difficult to get to the polls, especially after a long day at work. My suggestion is to look to Facebook first, and see if any of your friends are offering rides. If that fails, look to apps like
Uber and Lyft - if they are operating in your area, they may be giving free rides to polling places. If all else fails, though, get on a waterproof coat and hoof it!
-
"I'm not sure who is running!" As we've discussed previously in this publication,
Freeport is something of a Gerrymandered community, so it's understandable that you might not be sure who is running in which part of town. You might be planning to vote for a candidate that, it turns out, isn't on your ballot because you're in the wrong district for that position!
Nassau County's BOE maintains a list of candidates, but it's honestly quite confusing unless you're used to reading spreadsheets.
My advice in this situation is to - yes - take a minute to scroll through the spread sheet and match up the various districts you live within to the candidates thereof. Also, while it's not always fair to match up the behaviors of a party-in-general with those of an individual candidate, for the big-name races you can probably expect that their lower-ticket party-members will probably support that candidate's agenda. In Freeport, specifically, there are State Legislature races of significant interest given Earlene Hooper's defeat in the primaries, so don't think that there's nothing of local importance on the ballot.
This is just as much for your state-level government as it is your federal representation! (Pst. This also includes redistricting in 2020, so maybe we can un-Gerrymander things a bit)
- "What if I'm afraid to get there late?" The law, as I understand it from having seen many an election in my not-quite-youth-anymore, is that once you are on line to vote, you can NOT be denied the right to vote. As long as you are
in line by 9:00 PM, you can't be forced off of the line. You have your right to vote, so don't be afraid if you get out of work at 8:30 and get at the polling place by 8:50.
- "What if something goes wrong when I vote?" The most common problem I've seen reported by Freeporters so far is that there have been some concerns with people not being on the voter rolls. This is a potentially serious problem, but there are many other possibilities such as voter intimidation (either directly or through posters left deliberately-close to a polling place with hate speech, etc), or other ballot spoilage issues.
If this happens to you, BE CALM. First of all, in case there's some kind of administrative problem, ask for an
Affidavit/Provisional ballot. That way, they can get your vote down with a sort of, 'we'll check into this problem and if it clears, count it' promise. Contact the
Voter Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE, and
listen to some advice the ACLU has provided.
Don't let this go, don't wait, make the call and get the process working in your favor.
- "Am I just voting on candidates?" - That depends on your district, but
ALWAYS, as a rule of future Election practice, check the back of your ballot for any ballot initiatives that might be relevant to your district, town, or county. Many states, for example, have public referendums on whether or not Marijuana should be legal recreationally. These are ballot initiatives, and they would be on the back.
Happy voting!! Remember: You're a citizen of a Representative Republic. It's not necessarily ideal, but if you want to keep it, vote. Otherwise, you may lose even that.
Jesse Pohlman is the writer/editor of The Weekly Freeporter, a non-partisan enterprise, and does not endorse any candidates as a rule. If, however, you'd like to read his thoughts on the over-arching theme of and verdict for the 2018 election, you may do so at this link.
