Things You Should Know Before You Vote

As an elections poll worker, I work a handful of days each year running a polling station that gives people a chance to vote. Super Tuesday was one of these days. Most of the people who came through the doors were able to have their voices heard, but a too many people were also not allowed to vote. (One person who cannot vote is too many, though we had a handful.) Others had added difficulty to the voting process because they were not educated on certain things.

With more than half of our states still to hold presidential primaries, and with presidential elections coming up, here are some things you should know about voting.

Register to vote: Registering to vote is probably the most important part of voting. This happens before Election Day. Part 1 of this article covers voting registration in detail.

Photo ID: Most states require voters to show a form of identification. The most reliable and acceptable form of identification is a drivers license, or government issued ID. Check with your local elections office to find out if you need ID to vote and if you have an acceptable form of ID. While many people feel that being required to show ID can make it difficult for them to vote, it is actually a good thing. With a history of many people in our country fraudulently using the names of others, including deceased people to vote, ID has become very necessary. In some cases, multiple fraudulent votes are recorded when ID is not required. So, if your state required ID, then just provide it and do not give the poll officials a hard time. They cannot break the law and make an exception.

Follow the rules: as you enter the polling station, you will see signs such as Turn off Cell Phones, Pagers, No News Papers, and No Campaigning Allowed. This means you cannot discuss voting with others inside of the polling place. You cannot have phone conversations about the elections within the polling place. You cannot do anything that will disrupt another person's voting experience. Giving voting officials a hard time where elections rules are concerned can make your experience extremely unpleasant and can hinder your privilege to vote.