I am concerned many people are confused about whether to vote in person or by mail.

[honest.abe]

What if the virus picks up just before election day? Will people be afraid to go? But then it will be too late to order a ballot. Right?

Should we go ahead and order a ballot just in case? But then if you change you mind and vote in person I think you can only vote provisional, which is a hassle. Its a tough call.

I think we need more official guidance on how to make this decision.

[soothsayer]

1. Early in person if your state allows

[honest.abe]

4. Good suggestion.

But my point is that many may not be aware of the options and the implications of each option. I think there should be some mass communication... mailings, email, etc, to voters with custom voting information for each state. Maybe Bloomberg could fund this.

[soothsayer]

5. Ah, I gotcha

[LisaL]

13. It's kind of hard to make recommendations when nobody knows what exactly will be going on in

November. Will covid cases rise, making vote in person even more risky? Will USPS work properly? I would say in states with early voting, if your early voting place is not very crowded and you are already going out and about, the safest option is probably to go vote early.

[honest.abe]

18. Yes indeed.

But I think we need better information on the options and the implications of each option. Many are confused right now. That is not good and could result in many folks not voting.

[scarytomcat]

2. vote absentee and drop off

Carefully follow instruction

[honest.abe]

6. "carefully follow instruction"

That's part of my fear.. many wont. Voting shouldn't be complicated.

[LisaL]

10. I managed to vote by mail during a primary.

So I am hopeful I will be able to do so during the election.

[SheltieLover]

3. I will not entruet my ballit to DeJoy's shit show

I will vote early, in person.

I'd planned to do mail in, but in TN ballots won't be mailed out until mid-October!

Convenient, right?

The primary was 8/6 & >300 votes came in by mail during the following week.

I will not take that chance.

[honest.abe]

7. Yep, I think many feel the same way.

Many don't trust the USPS anymore with whats going on. which is very unfortunate.

[SheltieLover]

12. It is a sad situation

Especially in that he has not been removed and imprisoned for destroying our taxpayet-funded sorting machines & letter drop boxes.

Truly unfortunate & infuriating.

I won't entrust my ballot to DeJoy.

And I want a clear win for Joe from in-person votes on election night. 😉

[Buckeye_Democrat]

8. Well, I've already mailed my absentee ballot request.

I'll track it online after the date of them being mailed-out arrives.

Glad that I reviewed the BOE website because I mistakenly thought the ballot must have a postmark. Nope! I can drop it off at the local BOE office in-person! (No idea why I thought a postmark was required, unless it used to be that way?)

So that's my plan. Then track it online again.

[LisaL]

9. Postmark is needed if your ballot arrives after the election.

In OH, ballot has up to 10 days after the election to arrive to be counted, as long as its postmarked the day before the election.
Boards of election should have a drop off box somewhere, that should be monitored, and where one can drop the ballot off (in all its envelopes, I am assuming).

[Buckeye_Democrat]

19. Yep, but that ballot will get dropped-off ASAP...

... after I get it and complete it.

My main worry is getting the ballot mailed to me in a timely manner now! Not a major worry, but I've indeed received NO MAIL this whole week! That's pretty unusual.

Edit: My only delivery were the masks from Menard's you told me about, but those were through UPS.

[LisaL]

21. Yes, that's a worry for sure.

I am still getting mail. Even one mail piece that went missing eventually made its way to me.

[honest.abe]

11. Did you read this?

Alarming rate of absentee ballot rejections this year

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213951196

[LisaL]

15. People might have not voted at all if not able to vote absentee.

Our in person primary was cancelled the evening before the primary. If I didn't vote absentee, I wouldn't have been able to vote.

[honest.abe]

31. Yes, understood.

For some that's the only option so that makes the decision easier.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

33. I'll be super-careful doing it.

I'm careless sometimes, but not with something like an absentee ballot. I'll probably review it about half a dozen times. Lol.

[SheltieLover]

14. Glad you got it in pearly!

In TN, ballots will not be mailed to voters until mid-October. 😏

Glad you are tracking your ballot, too!

[LisaL]

17. Nobody is getting any ballots yet.

In OH, they won't be starting mailing them until October 6th.

[SheltieLover]

22. Pls see post #8

[LisaL]

24. He send his ballot request. Which is not the same as a ballot.

Ballot request is the form in which you ask for the board of elections to send you your ballot.

[SheltieLover]

26. Ty

Sorry misread. Lots of distractions here atm. 😊

[Buckeye_Democrat]

29. That's okay. Yep, she was correct about what I meant.

I'm a bit slow with my replies. Lol.

[SheltieLover]

16. PS - Please everyone check your laws - no drop off allowed in TN

[Buckeye_Democrat]

34. Yes, everyone should do that!

I'm in OH, obviously.

[SheltieLover]

35. 👍

Michelle told everyone to pack a lunch & vote in person. I concur!

[beachbumbob]

20. In person early voting is way simple and no issue with mail.

Takes 10 minutes at our clerks office

[LisaL]

23. It all depends on your location.

In some places its not simple and easy.

[SheltieLover]

27. Very true!

[SheltieLover]

25. Same here!

But for some folks, early voting is also all day lines. Repuke run states.

[honest.abe]

28. Yes, I am thinking that is the best option at this point, if allowed.

Do you know if all states will allow early voting?

Hopefully there will be some communication to all voters on if, when and where we can early vote.

[LisaL]

30. Go to your state's board of election. It should list all the rules.

[honest.abe]

32. Yes, I know. I am talking about the millions of voters out there who arent that connected.

If its too complicated or confusing they might not vote. Dumb I know given the circumstances but there are many voters like that.

[SheltieLover]

37. Yes there are!!!

[SheltieLover]

36. Check local laws

They will have dates, times & locations listed.

For me, early voting begins mid-Oct.

Different everywhere. If you cannot find info, pls let me know & I will look up site. 👍

[honest.abe]

38. Yes, I have the information for Maryland which is where I live.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/08/20/maryland-voting-guide-faq/

But my point is this type of information needs to be better disseminated to all voters in every state.