Celebrate Vote Early Day on October 29!
Vote Early Day is a nonpartisan Civic Holiday dedicated to helping voters learn about their options for casting their ballots ahead of Election Day. NLIHC’s nonpartisan Our Homes, Our Votes campaign is proud to join thousands of Vote Early Day partners nationwide to empower Americans to vote early and make their voices heard. Vote Early Day will take place on Tuesday, October 29.
Long lines at the polls, voter disinformation, and confusing election laws all have a disenfranchising impact that disproportionately affects low-income voters. Early voting gives voters the opportunity to overcome these obstacles and ensure that they can cast their ballots. Millions of Americans have options to vote ahead of Election Day by mail or in person.
To find your state-specific early voting rules, use the Our Homes, Our Votes TurboVote platform: https://ourhomes.turbovote.org/vote-early.
NLIHC Joins Pilot Community Partners for Nonpartisan Voter Education Events
Our Homes, Our Votes Project Manager Courtney Cooperman joined Georgia Advancing Communities Together (Georgia ACT), an NLIHC state partner and pilot community partner, for a nonpartisan voter education event in Atlanta on October 8. Georgia ACT held a pizza and ice cream social with NCNW Morris Brown Collegiate Section and Morris Brown Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity to build enthusiasm around voting, help students and community members confirm their voter registration status, and ensure that voters have a plan to cast their ballots in the upcoming election. Click here for a social media recap of the event.
Courtney joined the Southern California Association for Nonprofit Housing (SCANPH), an NLIHC state partner and pilot community partner, for its “Our Voice, Our Vote” conference in Pasadena, CA, on October 10. Courtney hosted an Our Homes, Our Votes exhibitor table and shared resources that conference attendees can use to increase voter turnout in their communities in the remaining weeks before the election. She also spoke on a “Nonpartisan Voter Engagement 101” panel featuring Arianna Bankler-Jukes, advocacy manager and organizer at SCANPH; An Le, assistant director of community building and engagement at Little Tokyo Service Center; and Coach Ron Crockett, resident leader with Residents United Network- Los Angeles (RUN-LA). Click here for a social media recap of the event.
To learn more about the Our Homes, Our Votes pilot communities initiative, visit: www.ourhomes-ourvotes.org/pilot-communities
Updates and Resources for North Carolina Voters Affected by Hurricane Helene
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the North Caroline State Board of Elections and nonpartisan organization Democracy NC have compiled updated information for voters affected by the disaster, including emergency provisions to protect access to the ballot.
According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE), there are nearly 1.3 million registered voters across the 25 counties in North Carolina’s designated Helene disaster area. NCSBE’s website provides guidance for absentee voting, in-person early voting and Election Day voting, meeting photo ID requirements, and other emergency provisions for voters affected by Hurricane Helene.
Democracy NC has also compiled a summary of information for voters affected by Hurricane Helene. Voters who have been temporarily displaced due to the hurricane, but who intend to return to their original residence, retain their original residence for voting purposes. Voters in the counties covered by the federal disaster declaration can fill out an “ID Exception Form” and cast a provisional ballot without presenting a photo ID. All mail-in ballots contain an ID Exception Form.
Voters in the 25 counties in North Carolina’s designated Helene disaster area should contact the NC State Board of Elections and their County Board of Elections for any updates to early voting and Election Day in-person voting locations. Voters in these counties also have expanded options for requesting, returning, and receiving assistance with their mail-in ballot.
For more comprehensive information from Democracy NC, visit: https://democracync.org/resources/voting-information-for-people-affected-by-hurricane-helene/
Voting Resources for Survivors of Domestic Violence
*Content warning: domestic violence*
The No More Foundation, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to ending domestic and sexual violence by increasing awareness and fueling cultural change, recently published a blog post titled “Hidden Barriers: Domestic Violence and Obstacles to Voting.” The blog post details the ways in which an abusive partner can suppress critical information, threaten or intimidate a victim into voting a certain way or not at all, and deter survivors from registering to vote due to the public status of registration records. By highlighting these barriers and providing guidance for survivors and their loved ones to make voting plans, No More aims to ensure that all survivors can safely exercise their voting rights.
No More has also released its State Voting Guide for Survivors (2024), which provides state-specific descriptions of the provisions available to help domestic violence survivors vote safely and confidently. The programs listed are the Address Confidentiality Program (ACP), confidential registration options, early voting, same-day registration, and vote-by-mail. ACPs are programs which allow survivors to withhold their address from public records, including voter registration lists, which can help survivors avoid being located by current or former abusers. In states where ACP programs are available, the guide provides deadlines associated with the service and where survivors can learn more about their state’s requirements. The voting guide can be found here.
Additional voting resources for survivors of domestic violence include:
- An overview of Address Confidentiality Programs from the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
- A detailed description of the relationship between voting and survivor privacy from the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV)’s Safety Net Project.
- A compilation of safe voting tips for survivors from the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
Demos and Organize Tennessee Release Analysis of Tennessee’s Missing Voters
Demos, a nonprofit policy organization working to build a just, inclusive, and multiracial democracy, recently partnered with Organize Tennessee, a nonprofit targeting voter suppression and protection in Tennessee, to analyze why nearly 2.3 million of Tennessee’s eligible voters are considered “missing,” having not voted in the past three general federal elections. The report examines why Tennessee has some of the lowest voter turnout and voter registration rates in the country, especially among voters of color.
The analysis challenges the narrative of a disinterested electorate, which blames low voter turnout on individuals’ lack of priority placed on elections. Rather, low voter turnout in Tennessee is a result of systemic underinvestment and discriminatory voter suppression laws primarily targeting communities of color within Tennessee. The report presents an overall description of Tennessee’s missing voters, policy recommendations to increase voter engagement, and county-level profiles of missing voters in Organize Tennessee’s priority areas. While the report focuses on Tennessee, its insights can be applied to understand the root causes of low voter turnout rates among historically disenfranchised communities in all states.
Preview and download the full report here: https://www.demos.org/policy-briefs/tennessees-missing-voters-state-and-county-analysis.
Host a Nonpartisan Party at the Polls with When We All Vote!
When We All Vote, a national nonpartisan initiative formed to increase voter participation, invites individuals to host their own “Party at the Polls” to make voting a memorable community event. Research shows that voter turnout can increase by as much as 4% when voting is a fun, celebratory activity. When We All Vote’s step-by-step Party Host Guide and promotional materials are available to all.
The guide provides instructions for remaining nonpartisan and following all applicable laws, choosing a location and date, promoting and hosting the event, and ensuring that attendees make a plan to vote. The first 100 “Party at the Polls” volunteers will also receive a free party pack, which can be requested at weall.vote/volpartypack at least seven business days before the event.
More information can be found at weall.vote/partyhost.