Broken voting machines? Not on the list of registered voters? Here’s what to do if your vote is challenged

This is an updated version of a story originally published on November 2, 2022.

As the general election approaches, it is important to know your rights in case your vote is challenged.

The best way to make sure your vote counts is to speak up for yourself. I am a civil rights attorney and faculty member of the University of Southern California’s undergraduate human rights advocacy initiative, Agents of Change. Here are a few straightforward ways to make sure your vote counts and two effective remedies to consider if your vote remains challenged.

A big part of making sure you can vote is making the necessary preparations before you even get to the polling place. Read on to find out how and where to register, where and when to vote, and what numbers to call for any information you can’t find online.

Are you registered to vote? Check it out

Before you can vote, you need to make sure you are registered to vote. You can verify your registration status using this tool. If you cannot use the online tool, call your local election office or voter helpline such as the one listed below.

If you find that you are not registered, you can use this tool from the National Conference of State Legislatures to find your state’s online registration application. If you need to do this in person, call your local election office for instructions.

At this point, you may have missed your county’s voter registration deadline. But it may not be too late to register.

Most states allow same-day registration at the polls. You can find your state’s same-day voter rules detailed here. Ask the poll worker, at the appropriate polling station, for a same-day registration form; fill out the form and request a “conditional ballot.” A conditional vote allows election officials to count your vote after verifying your voter eligibility. If you can’t search online, you can call your local election office to find out if you can register on Election Day.

Gather documents to verify your identity

If you live in a state that requires ID verification to vote in person, gather the required documents—which can range from a driver’s license to bank statements with identifying information—before going to the appropriate polling place. You can find contact information for your county election office here. This web page includes a table listing the acceptable ID documents for each state and possible exceptions for some individuals. You can also call your local election office to find out what is required.

Absentee voters: Find your state’s identity verification rules here.

Find the right polling place

You can make sure you go to the right place to vote with this tool. Or call your county elections office to find your polling place and its hours of operation; You can find contact information for your county election office here.

Once you know your polling station and its hours, you can go there and check. In most cases, you will be given a ballot, shown where to vote, then asked to put your vote in a machine or box, and then. you can go on your way happily.

But check-in is when things can go wrong.

Problems at your polling place

Here are some potential voting challenges and ways to overcome them.

Possible No. 1: Voting machines out of order.

If you are asked to leave because of a malfunctioning machine, don’t. Instead, ask for a paper ballot.

2 possibilities: You are in line and the officials announce that the polls are closed.

If you are in line at the polling place before it closes, don’t let them shoo you away at closing time if you haven’t voted yet. You have a legal right to vote under those circumstances, so sit in line and wait to vote.

3 possibilities: You are not on the list of registered voters.

If you are told that you cannot vote because your name is not on the voter list, ask the poll worker to check again and check what is called the list of additional voters. If they still haven’t found your name, ask a survey worker to make sure you’re in the right place.

4 possibilities: Someone says you shouldn’t be allowed to vote.

If your eligibility to vote remains a challenge after you’ve made sure you’re at the right polling place, request a provisional ballot, which is available in all states except Idaho and Minnesota. You can find information about your state’s provisional ballot laws here.

Track your provisional ballot here.

Call the phone number

If you have not been given a provisional ballot, call the elections hotline for assistance. Here are four hotlines, run by members of the non-partisan organization Protect Elections, that can help you:

English: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683), Advocates Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Spanish: 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682), National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund

Asian languages: 888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683), Asian American and Pacific Islander Vote

Arabic: 844-YALLA-US (844-925-5287), Arab American Institute

Report voter intimidation

If someone tries to intimidate you into voting or not voting for a candidate, stand firm and demand a vote at the polls, call one of the above phone numbers to report the intimidation, and file a complaint with the FBI later by calling 800. -CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov.

File a case

If you’re still blocked from voting, consider legal action—but get advice about your situation directly from one of the hotlines, which have lawyers offering free legal advice. It’s a good idea to write down the names of the people who prevented you from voting and ask eyewitnesses to get their contact information.

Karen Figueroa-Clewett is a lecturer in the Agents of Change program in the Department of Political Science and International Relations in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences..

This article has been republished from The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the first article.

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