Identification for Voting and Provisional Ballots
In Virginia, you need a form of photo ID in order to vote. You can see what forms of ID are accepted here. If it's on the list and less than one year expired, you're good to go.
If you don't have photo ID, you'll be given a provisional ballot, and written instructions for how to provide a copy of your ID to the voter registration office. Your ballot won't be counted until your identity is verified. The electoral board must receive this copy by Monday, November 14th, at 12pm.
Poll Watchers– aka, Candidate Representatives
Rules vary by state: this information applies to Virginia. An official poll watcher, also called a candidate representative, is somebody who has been officially appointed a representative of one of the candidates on the ballot. They must be a registered voter, and must have presented the chief election officer documentation signed by their candidate or the chair of the candidate's party. They're allowed to inspect the polling place, and to watch the proceedings. A person can't appoint themselves a poll watcher.
- Watch the registration table and listen to what's going on there
- Make a written list of the voters who voted there
- Bring in a volunteer translator to listen to an election official translate a ballot
- Challenge a voter if they believe that voter is not able to legally vote
Poll watchers are not allowed to:
- Watch you vote
- Look at your completed ballot
- Advise you on how to vote, or campaign for their candidate within 40 feet of the polling location
- Assist you in any way, whether you ask or not, or wear any badge, button, sticker, etc which encourages voters to ask for their assistance
- Take pictures or record inside the polling place
- Sit at the registration table as though they are an election official
- "Delay or hinder" voters in any way
- Stop you from voting
If somebody is hassling you and claiming to be a poll watcher, alert the election officials at the polling place and call one of the hotlines below.
Challenging a Voter and Responding to a Challenge
In Virginia, any registered voter may challenge another voter's eligibility: basically, being challenged means that somebody is saying "I don't think this person is allowed to vote." If somebody suspects that you're not allowed to vote for some reason, they must fill out and sign a statement of challenge, indicating the reason for the challenge. The challenger doesn't have to provide any proof of their claim, but if they're making claims that are clearly false, it might be a crime.
Being challenged doesn't mean you can't vote. If somebody challenges your eligibility to vote and fills out the statement of challenge, the election authority will ask you to sign a written statement saying that you have the right to vote. By signing the form, you're swearing that you are an eligible voter. If you sign that form, you must be allowed to vote with a regular ballot (not a provisional ballot, unless that was required for some other reason). If you need help responding to a challenge, call the Virginia ACLU at their number below.
Historically, the right wing has used voter challenging to try to scare people, usually racial minorities, out of voting. If somebody's going around challenging every Black person that walks in, or everybody wearing a Clinton button, etc, that's voter intimidation and you should alert an election official and call one of the numbers below.
What do I do if I have a problem?
If you have some problem tomorrow, you have a couple of options.
Alert an election official.
Call the Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE
Call the Department of Justice Voting Rights Hotline at 800-253-3931
Contact the Virginia ACLU by calling 804-644-8080 or emailing acluva@acluva.org
If you have to call one of the hotlines, do so while you're still at the polling place, if at all possible.
The ACLU of Virginia can help answer questions and advise you on what to do if you have your right to vote challenged, are told you can't vote due to political attire, if you can't physically get into the polling place, if you make a mistake on the ballot, or if you're not on the registration rolls. They can also answer questions about voter intimidation, ID requirements, and more.
Challenging a Voter and Responding to a Challenge
Being challenged doesn't mean you can't vote. If somebody challenges your eligibility to vote and fills out the statement of challenge, the election authority will ask you to sign a written statement saying that you have the right to vote. By signing the form, you're swearing that you are an eligible voter. If you sign that form, you must be allowed to vote with a regular ballot (not a provisional ballot, unless that was required for some other reason). If you need help responding to a challenge, call the Virginia ACLU at their number below.
Historically, the right wing has used voter challenging to try to scare people, usually racial minorities, out of voting. If somebody's going around challenging every Black person that walks in, or everybody wearing a Clinton button, etc, that's voter intimidation and you should alert an election official and call one of the numbers below.
What do I do if I have a problem?
If you have some problem tomorrow, you have a couple of options.
Alert an election official.
Call the Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE
Call the Department of Justice Voting Rights Hotline at 800-253-3931
Contact the Virginia ACLU by calling 804-644-8080 or emailing acluva@acluva.org
If you have to call one of the hotlines, do so while you're still at the polling place, if at all possible.
The ACLU of Virginia can help answer questions and advise you on what to do if you have your right to vote challenged, are told you can't vote due to political attire, if you can't physically get into the polling place, if you make a mistake on the ballot, or if you're not on the registration rolls. They can also answer questions about voter intimidation, ID requirements, and more.
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