Three Steps for a Smooth Election Day

We know you have been working overtime hosting registration drives, creating voters’ guides, hosting debates and printing helpful materials for voters in your communities. And while the end is in sight, our work does not stop until Election Day has come and gone.

LWVEF urges Leagues to take the following steps to ensure voters are ready for Election Day and are able to overcome any problems they encounter at the polls.

• Help Get out the Vote! Follow up with people you’ve registered, as well as your broader social/professional networks, to encourage them to show up on Election Day. Share VOTE411.org so voters can find out when and where to vote, who will be on their ballot, and more.
• Consider a poll worker or election observer program. Check in with your local elections official to see if poll workers are still needed for Election Day. If possible, help recruit League volunteers to serve as poll workers or election observers, then share the results of your observations with elections officials to bring about better practices in the future.
• Help voters overcome challenges in real time. Make sure your League phone line and email are well-attended to on the days leading up to and on Election Day. If needed, consider a phone tree or other way to make sure voters can be responded to efficiently. Plan to make use of VOTE411.org and the 1-866-OUR-VOTE national hotline to help address voters’ questions. Both are powerful voter protection tools that can provide trustworthy information for voters about their rights. VOTE411.org can be used on Election Day to help voters find the right polling place, know what ID, if any, is required at the polls, and much more.

Try these ideas: 

1. Share VOTE411 via a letter to the editor to local media, social media networks, PSAs, or advertising.
2. Use VOTE411 while on the phone/in person with voters to enter their address and pull up the relevant information for them.
3. Mention VOTE411.org on your League’s voicemail message or outgoing email signature/out-of-office message, so that voters will be pointed to helpful resources even if they are unable to reach you directly.
4. For help with complicated legal issues, voters or League volunteers can call the 1-866-OUR-VOTE hotline to be connected with election protection and legal experts.

We will continue to provide information and materials to help you prepare for Election Day. Thank you for all you are doing for your community and for our country!