Spread Information, Not Chaos
Friends and readers, I have two asks of you in this blog post. I hope you’ll read it carefully and to the end!
First, especially for my friends in the Keystone state, my first ask is: Do you have a plan to vote? I mean – have you REALLY thought through EXACTLY how you are voting this year? We are new to mail-in voting here, and there is a lot of confusion about the process. Here is what I need you to know:
It is not too late to register or request a mail-in ballot if you want one. Please go to VotesPA.com and check your registration status. If you can’t remember if you already requested a mail-in ballot, check that too. But I need you to do this TODAY. Mail-in ballots are just going out in the mail now. Allegheny County has mailed about 85 percent of the over 300,000 ballots that have been requested.
Once you have a mail-in ballot, decide: are you going return it in the mail? If so, complete the ballot, put it in the inner “secrecy” envelope, and put that in the other mailing envelope. Sign the back of the outer envelope in the declaration space and send in the mail – postage is already paid! See this helpful graphic from PA Dems:
You can also return the mail-in ballot in person instead of via the mail. In Allegheny County, you can go to the County Elections Division downtown (542 Forbes Avenue, Room 601). The office is open from Monday to Friday and during the last three weekends in October. They also opened satellite offices around the county where you can drop ballots off securely on the weekend.
Now, this is the tricky one so read closely – did you request a mail-in ballot but want to vote in person? Totally fine. But I need you to HOLD ON TO YOUR MAIL-IN BALLOT. You need to take your ballot and the inner and outer envelopes to your polling place on November 3rd. Otherwise, you will cast a provisional ballot, which is better than nothing but not ideal. I know people are thinking about voting this way, and many don’t know this procedure (I don’t blame them! It is new to all of us!), but if we end up with 30,000 provisional ballots in Allegheny County, Election Day is going to last a month, and no one wants that.
If you avoided the entire mail-in process and are voting in person on Election Day, check your polling place here, and you’re ready.
If you aren’t in Pennsylvania, check this tool from The New York Times on how to vote in all 50 states, and hopefully that will answer your questions. Or google your county board of elections website. Or ask me, and I’ll google it for you because I’m that serious about making sure people have answers they need to vote this year.
My second ask is, will you spread the word? Like when you’re on the plane and the flight attendants tell you to put your own oxygen mask on before assisting others, can you learn the basics of voting in your area and commit to spreading the word over the next 30 days? You may own a shoe store or bookstore, run a non-profit or law firm or water utility. Some of you have huge email lists and social media followings. Or you have five friends or relatives in a swing state who you can text or pester on social media. What can you do in the next 30 days to reach out and educate people about voting?
If you want help to figure out how to do an email blast, social media series, or some other communication about voting, Scottie Public Affairs is offering pro bono services for the next 30 days in the name of educating voters. Just email me what you want to do. Want a custom email like this for your county? We’ll help you. Want a custom video or graphics? I know some people who can do that (it probably won’t be free, but freedom isn’t free, so just keep that in mind). As a communications professional, I believe we must over-communicate for the next 30 days. We need total saturation on this message. And it isn’t even partisan – it is just civics! We can spread information, not chaos, but it takes all of us. Will you join me?