Access Democracy

Indivisible Guide Survey

SURVEY

Voting Rights and Voter Suppression: Navigating State & Local Laws and Barriers to the Ballot

 

Presented in partnership with

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The survey below replicates the recommended questions from the guide. You’ll notice that not every question is included; to make it easier to fill out, we’ve just included the ones that are the most relevant to your advocacy, and kept out the ones that are more factual (for example, does your state offer early voting?). No field is required (other than identifying yourself!), so please feel free to skip those that didn’t come up in your conversations.  

 

Thank you for taking the time to engage with your statewide and local election officials!

By better understanding how elections are run in your state and letting your state and local election officials know that you care about the right to vote, you have had an impact on the decisions they make to ensure fair, equal, and easy access to the ballot -- for every voter in your state. You can take your advocacy a step further by filling out this survey. Doing so will help surface systemic voting rights issues, as well as identify election officials who want to be more active protecting the right to vote and who can provide important expertise.

Name *
Name
If the local official you spoke with works for your county
If the local official you spoke to works for your municipality
Which official from your statewide election office did you meet with or speak to? Title
If you have OVR, how is the state educating voters in the community about the option to register to vote online?
If you have OVR, what steps has the state taken to ensured that the online registration system won’t crash with heavy use?
If you have OVR, is information about online registration available in Spanish [or other languages commonly spoken in the state]?
If you do not have OVR, does the official support efforts to bring online registration to the state? What would it take to get online voter registration in your state (a new law, a regulatory change)?
If you do not have automatic registration, would the official support this reform?
If you do not have same day registration, would the official support this reform?
Voter Outreach & Registration
Do you have programs that reach out to:
Does the election official support efforts to expand access to voter registration? What actions is s/he taking?
If your state uses Crosscheck, is the election official aware of concerns regarding that system’s reliability and accuracy?
Did the election official express support for fair and accurate maintenance of voter rolls?
If you have a photo ID requirement, what should voters who don’t have a photo ID do?
Voter ID
If you have a photo ID requirement, is that photo ID free?
If you have a photo ID requirement, what photo ID does your office provide for voters?
If you have a photo ID requirement, what support is there for voters who cannot afford the fees associated with the ID or the underlying paperwork (like a birth certificate)?
If you have a photo ID requirement, how long does it take to acquire the photo ID issued by your office?
Voter ID
Can we count on you to support efforts to remove photo ID requirements?
Are there any planned changes to the types of voting machines or electronic poll books we use in our state?
What steps is the official taking to safeguard elections from cyberattacks?
Does the official feel they have the resources needed to protect election infrastructure from cyberattacks?
Voting Machines
Did the election official express support for strong protections for voter privacy and security?
Which official from your local election office did you meet with or speak to? Title
How does the official determine how many polling places to have on Election Day?
How does the official determine where to locate polling places? Is there a deadline?
How does the official inform voters of the location of their polling place, especially if the location has changed since last year?
Early Voting
Is the official offering early voting to the maximum extent allowed by law - including the full range of days and hours?
How does the official determine how many polling places to have during early voting?
How does the official determine where to locate early vote polling places? Is there a deadline?
How does the official inform voters of their early vote polling places?
Early Voting & Vote by Mail
Did the election official express support for expanding access to voting before Election Day, either in person or by mail?
How does the official determine how many voting machines, poll workers, ballots, and other resources to allocate to each polling place?
Resources - Machines, Workers, and Ballots
Is the official aware of the CalTech-MIT Voting Technology Project toolkit?
How old are the voting machines this official uses?
Resources - Machines, Workers, and Ballots
Does the official think they need new machines?
When are the voting machines tested? Who does the testing?
Resources - Machines, Workers, and Ballots
Are the testing and certification meetings open to the public?
Resources - Machines, Workers, and Ballots
Does the official feel they have the resources needed to protect election infrastructure from cyberattacks?
If electronic poll books are used, what backup plans exist in case of failures?
Do you provide ballots and other election information in other languages? If so, what is your process for translating the materials?
Resources - Machines, Workers, and Ballots
Did the official express a need for more poll workers?
How does someone become a poll worker?
Resources - Machines, Workers, and Ballots
Can poll workers work half days?
Resources - Machines, Workers, and Ballots
Do you allow high school students to be poll workers?
How many of your Indivisible group members are now signed up to become poll workers?
Did you encounter any roadblocks to signing up?
Final Thoughts *
Was this guide helpful to you?
Do you have other experiences from these conversations you would like to share?
*