Be absolutely positive that your ballot is counted. Each year, some ballots are discarded because of simple mistakes people make. Especially be sure to avoid these four common errors so your voice is heard.
- Use only blue or black ink to mark your choice. No red ink.
- Use a ball point pen, not a crayon, pencil, or felt-tip marker that can bleed through to the other side of the ballot.
- Use the envelope your ballot came with, not another one, because that’s part of the validation process.
- Sign the ballot envelope, and use the exact name that you signed with on your voter registration card so they can match up the two signatures. No initials (J.J. Smith) or nicknames not on your registration card (Sammy instead of Samantha).
Remember that you don’t have to mark a choice on every single item and office. If you don’t understand a proposition, don’t vote on it. You won’t be penalized for not voting on everything, and your ballot won’t be tossed out because of that.
If you’re voting from home, you can mail in your ballot, but allow a couple of weeks this year because the post office may be slowed down due to political pressures. Better still, drop it by a local election office, a library, community center, or city hall. Look for the list of drop-off places that comes with your ballot.
In short, be sure to vote. Each and every vote counts. Think of the simple math: 1 vote + 1 vote + 1 vote… can equal a landslide.