Word to the wise: Early voting is election protection

Richard Barish, Chair, Political Committee, richardbarish@gmail.com

President Trump has been signaling for months that he intends to undermine the November election. He has taken actions to try to do this, for instance, by seeking to restrict mail-in voting. We can expect he will do everything he can to keep eligible voters from casting their ballots and to prevent valid votes from being counted so his corruption can continue without oversight from Congress.

We do not know how Trump’s actions will affect us here in New Mexico. We can be confident that our Secretary of State and Attorney General will do everything they can to protect our vote. However, as individuals we also need to take all prudent actions to ensure everyone’s vote is counted. This article will address what you can and should do to protect the vote.

Check your registration often

NM has strict statutory guidelines that govern the removal of voters from the voter rolls, so it is unlikely you will be removed. But the safest course is to check your registration. It’s easy to do that at nmvote.org.

Early in-person voting is election protection

Election day is when you are most likely to encounter problems with in-person voting. But you can’t be affected by problems at polling sites on Election Day — or by problems with mail ballots — if you vote early and in-person. New Mexico has lots of sites for early in-person voting with accommodating hours. Put a date and backup date to vote early and in-person on your calendar, and bring friends and family with you. Encourage others to vote early. You can find voting times and locations at your county clerk’s website, which you can find at nmvote.org.

Key dates for early voting
October 6 – Early voting begins at your county clerk’s office (the clerk’s annex in Bernalillo County)
October 17 – Early voting begins at other locations in your county
October 31 – Last day of early voting

If you must vote by mail, make sure your ballot is in the mail early

On September 14, the Supreme Court denied Trump’s request for an emergency order that would allow him to set the rules for who gets to vote by mail. As a result, voting by mail is an option. If you do vote by mail, and if you are not on the permanent mail ballot list, request your mail-in ballot early (TODAY, for instance). You can request a mail-in ballot at nmvote.org.

Fill your ballot out right away once you get it. Your best option is to return it yourself to a dropbox or to an early or election day polling site. If you have to mail your ballot, get it in the mail early. You won’t be affected if there are problems with the mail near Election Day if you put your ballot in the mail early. Also, be certain to fill it out correctly so it won’t be rejected.

Key dates for mail-in voting
October 6–  Clerks begin mailing out ballots
October 20 – Applications must be received by your county clerk
November 3 – Election Day, County clerk must have the ballot in-hand by 7 p.m.

Want to help out?

Be a poll monitor on election day
Poll monitors keep an eye on polling sites from the outside, report problems and help voters with voting issues. If you can, sign up for training and two-hour shifts organized by Common Cause NM.

Be ready for a sustained mobilization, if needed after the election, to enforce the results

In the interest of covering all eventualities, you should know what to do if Trump does send troops or ICE to polling sites or interferes with the counting of ballots anywherein the country, or if he or his lackeys refuse to seat Democrats who were duly elected to serve in the US House of Representatives. If demonstrations become necessary, please look for additional details on our Facebook page or your local Indivisible group.

Make sure you vote!
Political strategist Anat Shenker-Osorio says “your vote is your ICE whistle.” It is also how you act to protect our public lands, keep unwanted data centers out of our communities, protect science and so much more. Be sure to vote yourself and try to make sure your family members and friends vote, too.

I am hopeful our democracy will survive. I hope I can look back in January after a new Congress is sworn in and have a good laugh at how needlessly worried I was. But if that is going to happen, we all need to do our part to zealously protect the election in November.