Bustle: How To Take Action Before The 2020 Election

The 2018 elections made history with the highest midterm voter turnout in four decades. Voters elected the most women to Congress and also created the most diverse Congress in history. These “blue and rainbow waves” were attributed in part to President Trump’s divisive policies targeting immigrants, LGBTQ people, and other marginalized groups.

Now, the 2020 election is less than 10 months away. Though that might seem like a long time, it isn’t: the first two events to determine the democratic nominee, the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, take place in February. And despite the historic turnout in the 2018 midterms, many people are still disillusioned with voting or face barriers that make it difficult. So if you want to take action before the 2020 election, now is the time to start. …

Sylvia Albert, national director of voting and elections at grassroots organization Common Cause, tells Bustle that people should start by getting informed. “Look around your community and see what groups are doing the work,” she says. Find out what groups are working to maximize voter turnout in your area and join their mailing lists. Those groups will let you know if there’s an upcoming board of elections meeting, where officials may talk about closing certain polling locations, for example. …

Albert says that people who want to get involved in ensuring fair elections can sign up to volunteer with Election Protection, which needs lawyers to answer questions via the nonpartisan voter hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE. If you’re not a lawyer, you can still volunteer with Election Protection through its nonpartisan poll monitoring program. “Volunteers commit to taking at least one Election Day shift to stand outside of assigned polling location after receiving training,” Election Protection’s website states. “You will distribute ‘Know Your Rights’ cards to voters, answer basic questions from voters at the polls, and help voters resolve any problems that occur, with the help of trained legal professionals.” …

The latest report by the Election Administration Commission said that 70% of election officials said it was difficult or very difficult to find poll workers, who set up your polling place and organize voters. “Poll workers have the best of intentions, but if there are not enough of them and they haven’t been trained properly and they’re older and there are new machines, all these things can snowball, and it can lead to disenfranchisement,” Albert says. “Being a poll worker would be an amazing gift that you would give your entire community.”