Federal law requires states to allow voters to cast a provisional ballot if a voter claims he registered before the state's registration deadline and is eligible to vote -- that is, that the voter is a U.S. citizen, 18 years or older and is not a convicted felon (in states that don't allow felons to vote).

http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Vote_(Even_If_They_Say_You_Can%27t)


National Campaign for Fair Elections, part of the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. "It might be a With the unprecedented numbers of citizens registering to vote for the first time in this election, states and counties have fallen behind in processing registration applications. But even if you haven't received confirmation from your election office, or aren't on the registration list at the polling place, you can still cast a ballot, say legal experts.

"Voters should absolutely be casting ballots if they submitted a timely registration and they are eligible to vote," says Jonah Goldman, director of the National Campaign for Fair Elections, part of the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. "It might be a provisional ballot, but they should still cast one."
, but they should still cast one."

I registered to vote at the DMV (in Richmond; I live in Fairfax) on September 16, but never received my voter registration card. I waited the 30 days as instructed, but that put me past the time limit for the election. I am not in the registration database -- my registration appears to have been simply discarded. Election officials tell me that I MAY NOT cast a provisional ballot.

(Because those ballots are for people who are registered, and I am definitely not registered, even though I claim I should have been -- and can present an official receipt of my voter registration application from the DMV!)


I filed a complaint with the state elections board but have not heard anything from them, and do not expect to hear anything from them. I tried repeatedly calling their hotline at all hours, but just get busy signals. If they ever do get back to me, I expect they will tell me the same thing the officials who work at the polls told me. (I haven't been into the polling place yet as I have no legal cause to vote early. But I've been asking people I happen to know who work there - friends who would tell me I could vote, if it were true.)

The fact that many people who are not even citizens (some legal, some illegal) are (according to the TV news last night) registered in Virginia, and will vote, while I (who had to show my Virginia birth certificate and all kinds of corroborating ID in order to register) will not be allowed to vote just burns my ass.

One of the reasons I moved back to Virginia is so that my vote would actually count (as opposed to the weird one-party state I was living in). After years of anticipating my right to vote and have it mean something.... I just feel quite physically ill now.

Sounds to me like you should of gone to the election office and told them this senario.

If nothing else, this will probably go down in history as the first election where US citizens were fighting over their right to vote.

I think were going to see a couple of arguements at the polls about people who think they should be on the voter rolls.

I contacted the League of Women Voters with my story, thinking that they are a group that collects these kinds of reports as ammunition for bringing such problems to light for the future. And indeed they were interested in exactly that and wrote it up.

They also took it upon themselves to use their more direct lines to the state elections commission, and after trading voicemails with some officials there, called me back. Someone official, at least, says that I should demand the provisional ballot.

So tomorrow I finally get to vote, at least to some minimal satisfaction. They emphasized that my vote will be counted (I guess they figure things are going to be close enough to require that). Or at least they really wanted me to feel as though it's a real vote that will be counted.

I expect to have to fight with the poll workers over this a little bit, but I think it will work. I'll report back here to let you know what happens.

as long as you go to your designated polling station, you should be able to vote even without a voter registration card. be sure to bring as much ID as possible. good luck!

I voted a provisional ballot without too much trouble. I did have to argue and make them call the election commission, even though I had the required government documents in hand. Once the calls were made, instant total compliance.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2008 08:11AM by Spacy.