OK, so I'm sure by now you all know what's going on with voting in November.
We should vote.
The act of voting itself, whether you vote in person or not, has become highly politicized.
My take is everybody should vote.
You have the opportunity to participate in deciding who's going to lead our country and
not just talking about Trump versus Biden.
I'm talking about the local level.
I'm talking about the state level.
And you should exercise that right.
And you should have a say.
So people have written to me and they've said, David, with all of this confusion about absentee
versus vote by mail, please explain how to vote by mail.
So first of all, what we're talking about for November is expanded absentee ballot access,
or you might call it in some states, universal absentee voting in states that have decided
to send ballots out.
They go only to registered voters.
They don't go to undocumented immigrants.
They don't go to children.
Do not fall for those talking points.
Each state has its own rules.
So you have to know the rules of your state or commonwealth.
So, first of all, figure out the rules in your state.
Go to the NASA s Web site page called absentee and early voting.
We're linking to that page in the description to the YouTube clip for this story you put
in your state.
For example, when I put in Massachusetts, it takes me to the Massachusetts secretary
of the commonwealth page with information on how to get an absentee ballot.
Now, Massachusetts sent out absentee ballot applications automatically.
I received the application.
If I plan to vote by mail, which I do, I fill it out.
I send it back in.
And then at some point after the September 1st primary, once we know exactly who will
be on the ballot in November, I will get the actual absentee ballot, which is where I vote.
Now, this is not the situation in every state.
If you look at the Brookings map raiding states on vote by mail, you will see that states
range in ratings from eight to F..
Right now, Alabama is the only state rated F on absentee voting, while a bunch of states
get an A..
Including the three West Coast states, Utah, Colorado, Hawaii and Washington, D.C., and
then a bunch of states get a B..
And this relates to the ease with which you can access an absentee ballot in your particular
state.
Now, I wish I could tell you this is the one way to do this, but each state runs things
differently.
So you actually do need to go and look at your state's voting Web site.
Now, a few things to understand.
And again, your state's Web site will tell you this.
If you're in the Commonwealth of Virginia or the state of Florida or even the state
of Florida, as Trump says, the every state and commonwealth has a Web site that will
explain this to you.
In some states, every registered voter will get a ballot automatically.
Perfect.
Just confirm your registered.
You can do that on the USA dot gov page.
Confirm you are registered to vote.
We're also linking to that.
If you're registered and you're in a state that's sending out ballots to every registered
voter.
Beautiful.
In other states, every registered voter will be sent an application for a ballot which
you have to fill out and send in in order to request the actual ballot be sent to you.
That's what I did in Massachusetts, for example, in some states, you have to choose to go and
apply for an absentee ballot.
Now, typically, I think there are some states where it can be.
Online in other states, you have to send some physical piece of mail to request the absentee
ballot in some states.
Everybody is allowed an absentee ballot.
In other states, you have to give a valid reason for why you want to vote absentee.
And depending on your state saying I'm afraid of catching Corona virus is considered a valid
reason.
Now, in other states, there's still a fight going on about that.
So you would have to look at the reasons that are considered valid reasons for requesting
an absentee ballot in your state and match it to your situation.
I'm not suggesting anybody lie, but examine what the valid reasons are and determine whether
any of them match your circumstances.
It's tragic that this is what's going on.
But all we can do, given that voting in some states starts in four and a half weeks, is
to go to your state's Web site.
If you have to request something, do it now and stay on top of this.
This really isn't difficult.
And I understand when you hear, well, am I getting a ballot or am I getting an application?
Do I have to print the application or can I fill it out online?
I get it.
We have 50 different systems in the United States.
All of the links you need are in the description to this YouTube video clip.
If anybody you know, is at all confused about how to vote by mail.
Send them this clip.
We did a story on the bonus show where we discuss that a whole bunch of people, including
and particularly young people, aren't sure how to vote by mail, how to request an absentee
ballot or whether they will get one automatically.
That's exactly the confusion we are trying to resolve here.
Figure out what's going on in your state using the links provided in the description for
this YouTube clip.
It is not difficult.
You have a right to vote in most states.
Now you have a right to vote absentee.
If you go through the right process, take advantage of things that are offered to you,
because the stakes, quite frankly, could not be higher.