Every Vote Counts: Four Things We Can Do to Encourage Voting

• Date: 01 January 2024

Bifocal January-February 2024Vol. 45, No. 3

100

Every Vote Counts: Four

Things We Can Do to

Encourage Voting

By David Godfrey, Immediate Past Director,

ABA Commission on Law and Aging

The 2024 national election season will be starting

soon, with primaries after the first of the year. As

lawyers, we understand the importance of good

law making in the legislative branch, effective

administration in the executive branch, and the best

judges in the judicial branch. Every election is

important, and every vote counts.

Here are four things we can do to encourage voting:

Verify that you are registered to vote and help

encourage others to register.

Every election there are news stories of people who

go to vote and discover that they are not on the

registration rolls. States purge the rolls of voters who

have not voted recently, mistakes are made, and even

the most minor change in address can result in the

voter not being properly registered. Checking ahead

is the best guarantee that you are properly registered.

A handful of jurisdictions allow Election Day

registration, but most do not. Remind your family,

friends, neighbors, and co-workers to check their

registration and if needed, help them register.

If you or someone you know needs help with the

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allowed in your state, and how to ask for it.

Every state has provisions defining what qualifies

voters for assistance with voting, what kinds of

assistance are allowed, and who can help a voter. As

a starting point, the ABA Commission on Law

and Aging has a guide for voter assistance, and

a guide for “Assisting Cognitively Impaired

Individuals with Voting.”

If you, or someone you know needs help

with the physical process of voting before the

election, call your local elections office and

ask what you need to do to request assistance

at the polls. While mail-in or absentee voting

may be the easiest option, many voters find

comfort in showing up at the polling place,

seeing old friends and neighbors, and voting in

person.

The assistance rules are designed to help every

voter who wants to vote, vote. It also helps to know

in advance what to do if poll workers are unsure what

assistance is allowed or improperly deny assistance

that is requested. Usually, the call for help needs to

be made before the voter leaves the polling place, and

the person requesting assistance needs to be prepared

to make that call. Remember the person assisting the

voter cannot coach or persuade the voter in making

selections in any way. If the voter is unclear or unable

to make a selection on any part of the ballot, that part

of the ballot must be left unvoted.

Carpool to the voting location.

An old friend of mine says “go vote and take a couple

of friends along with you, one under each arm.”

Democracy works best when every voice is heard. Let

family members, friends, and neighbors know when

you are driving to the polling place and offer to take

them along. Do not worry if their vote is different

than yours, every vote counts. Late in her life, my