It’s October 9th! While today may not play a role in Mean Girls or Fullmetal Alchemist, it’s still pretty important. Today is the last day for voter registration in a number of USA states, and the deadline is fast approaching for many others. If you’re able to vote, make sure to register — and if you’re registered already, double check your registration! Our usual fare around here is YA lit, but for today, here’s a list of voting and volunteer resources for the USA Nov. 6 elections:
VOTING
States with Oct. 9 voting registration deadlines: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii (ish), Illinois (ish), Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana (ish), Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada (ish), New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas
- For a full list of registration deadlines, click here.
- Want to vote early? See if your state allows it and get more information here.
For general voting needs, like registering and checking your registration, you’ve got a variety of options:
- vote.org
- iwillvote.com
- rockthevote.org
- demandthevote.com
- And the cutest, feline-filled option: votemeow.us
Not sure who or what to vote for? There’s plenty of resources to help you understand what’s on your ballot:
- An overview for first-timers on how to research and vote.
- To learn about the candidates on your ballot: ballotready.org
- For info on candidates AND measures: ballotpedia.org
- For California, there’s Voter’s Edge: votersedge.org
- It also helps to check out the election endorsements of your local newspaper! Of course, take these with a grain of salt and be aware of your local newspaper’s biases. (Do they lean liberal or conservative? Etc.)
VOLUNTEERING
All registered and ready to vote? Fantastic. If you have the time and ability to volunteer, here are a few ways to get involved:
- Sign up for phonebanking, canvassing, and other events at votesaveamerica.com
- Follow Road to 2018 to support and defend Democratic senate seats
- Follow Celeste P. on Twitter for simple, actionable steps, call scripts, and no-nonsense takes on the political scene
- Other sites: swingleft.org and indivisible.org
- And of course, there are local orgs that you can link up with to get involved…
DONATING
Money talks, because capitalism. Sigh. Here are a few ways to put your money where your mouth is, if your wallet can handle it:
- Pick a Senator and/or House Rep to donate to. Road to 2018 has a list of vulnerable Democrat senators to pick from.
- Donate to RAICES to support legal services for immigrants and refugees in Texas. The NYT reported in September that migrant children were transported to a Texas tent city. This is an ongoing issue and tragedy.
- Support anti-sexual violence organization RAINN.
- The more local, the better. Look up local non-profits doing the work in your community and support them. Your dollar has that much more impact on a local level.
On an unrelated note, watch The Hate U Give in theaters! It’s currently out in select theaters, and has a wide release on October 19th. (And for a look at the Ferguson movement through the lens of activist storytelling, watch the documentary Whose Streets? — it’s absolutely worth your time.)
Got more voting and volunteering resources for the Nov. 6 USA midterm elections? Share with us!