How to vote in the midterm elections

The 2022 midterm Election Day is here with all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate and 39 state and territorial gubernatorial candidates on the ballot.

In addition to federal races, there are also numerous other state and local elections being contested as Americans head to the polls, including state legislature seats, attorneys general, state treasurers, mayors, county positions and tribal executive positions.

To participate and have your say in the races where you live, here is what you need to know about how you go about voting, whether in-person or by absentee or mail-in ballot.

Each state sets its own voting regulations, so your first stop online should be your state election website or that of the local election office.

Vote.org provides a helpful list of links to election deadlines, dates, and rules for every state. The nonpartisan site also acts as a central hub of information for everything you need to vote.

You can register to vote, check your registration to ensure it is still valid or even pledge to register to vote in the future if you are under 18 years old. All American citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote.

The site also allows you to set up election reminders about when election day is and what you need to vote, including when early voting begins and ends, so you don’t miss your chance to participate in the US democratic process.

Vote.org also provides tools to help you find the nearest early voting location to you, request an absentee ballot to vote by mail, as well as see in advance what is on your ballot, tailored to where you live.

You can also track the status of your application to vote by mail, locate a ballot dropbox near where you live, and also where to find your polling place to vote in person on Election Day.

Now that the day is here, early voting is over and it is too late to request an absentee ballot for this election cycle. However, 22 states and Washington DC allow same-day registration for in-person voting. Those states are listed on Vote.org.

Vote.org also runs an Election Protection Hotline and publishes a handy guide outlining your voting rights.

The site advises that you check your state’s ID requirements to ensure you have everything you need to vote. Some states allow forms of identification as simple as a utility bill with an address, others allow you to vote by signing an oath, and as a last resort, you may be able to cast a provisional ballot which will be counted if your signature matched that on file with the voter registry.

It is also stressed that voters keep their place in line no matter how long, as if you are in line when the polls close, you will be allowed to cast your ballot. If you encounter problems, the site advises you to fix them in realtime at the polling location rather than leaving and returning.

Voters are also encouraged to do everything can to fill out a regular ballot and to only fill in a provisional ballot if there is no other option.

Provisional ballots are essentially backup votes if officials are unable to confirm a voter meets all of the requirements to vote. It will only be counted if a voter can later be shown to meet all those requirements.

The site also reminds voters to be patient and kind to poll workers who are doing their best often under difficult circumstances.

Perhaps most importantly, Vote.org stresses that it is illegal for anyone to try and stop you from voting.

This includes intimidation (physical, verbal, obstructive, watching over shoulders, questioning choices, or asking for ID when it is not required); coercion (offering money, spreading rumours or misleading information); threats about potential repercussions from voting a particular way; false information about voting requirements; and impersonating poll workers or other election officials.

If you are told you are not on the voter roll, the site advises you to confirm you are registered to vote and confirm you are at the correct polling place. If you recently moved you may still be registered at your previous address, in which case you may have to vote there or at a central polling location.

Finally, if you make an error on your ballot, such as forgetting to sign it, an election official may require you to rectify that mistake before it is counted – a process called “ballot curing”. This applies to mail ballots where the voter has forgotten to sign the envelope or something similar to that.

You will be notified promptly if you need to do anything such as provide a copy of your ID or sign a new envelope. There are usually strict deadlines for this and it could be as early as the day before election day.

Most states offer a website to track your mail-in or absentee ballot which will let you know if there is a problem.

Finally, it is important to remember why voting is important. US Citizenship and Immigration Services notes: “The law does not require citizens to vote, but voting is a very important part of any democracy. By voting, citizens are participating in the democratic process. Citizens vote for leaders to represent them and their ideas, and the leaders support the citizens’ interests.”

Vote.org also provides two quotations from previous US presidents.

President Ronald Reagan observed: “For this Nation to remain true to its principles, we cannot allow any American’s vote to be denied, diluted, or defiled. The right to vote is the crown jewel of American liberties, and we will not see its luster diminished.”

And President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said: “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.”