Headed to the poll on Tuesday? If you’re like me, you prefer to go to your regular polling place rather than cast a ballot during early voting.
One of the changes in the elections law that may affect some voters is a requirement that you now must vote in your correct precinct. Previously, people voting in the wrong precinct would be given a provisional ballot, and their votes would count in elections they were eligible to cast ballots in.
“We want every voter to fully participate in our democratic process, and that requires appearing at the right polling place, Kim Westbrook Strach, state elections executive director, said in a statement.
You can confirm your precinct by going to the state board’s polling place search tool here. That site can also be used for voters who moved on or before April 6. Voters who moved after April 6 are eligible to vote in their old precinct, and should enter that address in the polling place search tool.
The new voter ID requirement does not take effect this year. It takes effect in 2016. However, election officials will begin their educational program in preparation for the 2016 requirement and may ask voters if they have an appropriate photo ID.
Another interesting tidbit coming out of the State Board of Elections this year: More people used early voting for the May primary this year than used it during the last off-year primary four years ago, even though there were fewer days available to vote this year. In 2010, which had 17 days of early voting, 172,972 went to the polls to cast their ballots early. This year, 259,590 voted early. That’s a 50 percent increase.
So much for voter suppression.
