If you haven’t already voted, it’s not too late to make a plan to vote. Here are a few things to be mindful of as you make your way to a polling site.
First, some states allow same-day registration. You can check here for your state’s registration rules.
If you plan on voting in person on Election Day, you should check your states’ dress code for polling sites. Incidents of voters being turned away have already occurred in some states.
Rules for dress codes and how close campaign materials can be to polling sites vary by states and are enforced by poll workers. Clothing or other wearable items that endorse a particular candidate are not allowed in California, Delaware, Kansas, New Jersey, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, and Vermont, per a report by CNN.
In Michigan, a person wearing candidate-specific paraphernalia at a polling site can face a misdemeanor charge. The discretion is left up to poll workers and can be evaluated on a case by case basis meaning your safest bet is to avoid apparel that may be considered controversial altogether.
Also keep in mind that some items may be considered political if they make reference to an issue that is on the ballot. For example, a #MeToo t-shirt could potentially cause problems at a polling site if there is an amendment regarding sexual violence on the ballot.
If you are watching election results coverage, please note that polls don’t close until 7pm or later in most states. CNN reports it will not project a winner in a state until the polls have closed in that state or even later if the race is close. This means it will probably be a long night.
We may not know a winner on Election night. Because of the influx of mail-in votes, ballot counting in some states will most likely take an undetermined amount of time, ultimately delaying accurate results.
Back in 2000, a winner was not determined until December. That was after multiple appeals and a Supreme Court case, so a delay in announcing a winner is not unprecedented.
Congressional and Senate races are being closely monitored especially as Democrats are looking to maintain a majority in the House and build a majority in the Senate. They need about 4-5 seats to comfortably win a Senate majority.
This highly-anticipated and contentious election will be monitored closely as results come in through the night, week, and beyond.
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