What is the best way to vote?

It will vary from state to state. And things are changing as the election gets nearer and the postal crisis grows. The best thing to do is to check with your state’s League of Women Voters site, your county’s Board of Elections, or your party’s web site instructions for voting in your state. Each state is running things differently as always but there will be specific changes do to the pandemic.

In New Jersey, all registered voters will get a mail in ballot. I plan to fill mine out as soon as it comes in and then probably take it to one of the special drop boxes that will be set up. It could also be mailed in or walked to the Board of Electors at the county seat, I believe. But I am waiting for more information from friends who are working on get out the vote. There will be some polling places set up as well but those ballots will be counted as provisional in NJ to my knowledge.

We go to the Court House. However, we live in a relatively small city in the rural part of the state.

I’m going to do it in person, but my polling place is at a school about ½ mile away from my house.

It’s safer to do it by mail without any physical contact.
Of course, the most important thing is to VOTE!!!

I’ve already checked. I can do it all 3 ways I asked about. Which is the best way? Is it true that it’s harder to tamper with a paper ballot than it is an electronic voting machine? Or do the results of the paper ballot just get entered into an electronic machine anyway?

I will try to do it absentee and dropped in a special ballot box.The main reason I don’t want to go in person Is out of concern for the poll workers, most of whom are seniors. The fewer that vote in person, the less risk posed to those that are there for hours at a time.

I think all three are fine.

If you vote in person go during early voting if you can. My experience in all the places I’ve lived is early voting rarely has a long line to wait on. Usually, there is 0–5 other voters there when I go.

Don’t go the first day early voting opens, and if you must go the first day don’t go early in the morning. The anxiety ridden people show up first thing and make a line, it’s ridiculous. I see it again and again.

I am signed up for vote by mail as my standard operating procedure. I will vote (fill out my ballot) on Sunday, November 1, and then drop it off on Monday at the registrar’s office at the County Seat.

In my state @Dutchess_lll there is a paper trail, there is no electronic only voting.

Edited out November 2018 link !

@Tropical_Willie That information does not look up to date for this election in the pandemic which is why I suggest people check with local sources. Old out of date information is not good information.

Caught it !

Thanks @janbb

In person for me. It’s no different than going anywhere else right now.

Having registered, vote in person.

Having been registered for 47 years, and loving the exercise of my franchise in person whenever possible, I wouldn’t vote in person in the current circumstances given that I am in a very high risk group.

Risking death to preserve the right to vote is patriotic and and an obligation; risking death to vote in person when there is a risk free way to do so by mail in ballot is nonsensical and insane.

Democratic

^^^ Duh.

I’ll vote in person but as for “the best way,” like anything “best,” best differs for different people. What’s best for one may not be best for another. Health issues come into it, big time, especially now with the pandemic. If someone is going to be traveling on election day, that would be a decision maker. If someone has trouble getting out, for example, if they’re in a wheelchair, then going to a location may be difficult. Conspiracy theorists may prefer to vote in person, and even then, because they may want to find excuses to keep Donald Trump in office, they may feel that the whole thing is a sham and inaccurate.

I don’t mean “best” as in what is most convenient for me. I mean “best” as in it will get there in time and least likely to be tampered with. I keep hearing paper ballots can’t be tampered with but electronic voting can. I don’t even know what to believe any more.

@Dutchess_lll Check the site of The League of Women Voters as I keep repeating. They are an unbiased source. There will also be plenty of other reliable sources online such as your party’s candidate’s web site. It will not be rocket science, just requires some research.

I use the League of Women Voters for political and election questions myself. I called them two weeks ago about two candidates on my ballot.

Dutch, I thought you said you received your ballot in a day, why are you worried about your ballot not getting back to the polls if you mail it? Does your state have ballot tracking?

I can hardly believe this thread has been up for a few days and no one has quoted Al Capone for the best way to vote: “Early and often.”