Can you believe that we are already in the last quarter of 2020? What a year it has been! There’s still one VERY important thing left to do this year and that is voting in the 2020 presidential election. This election is super important and we’ve teamed up with the AMAZING Wag the Vote team to help spread voter awareness and resources during this election season!
Wag the Vote is a team of dogs (and their humans, of course) who are using their social media platforms to get humans to VOTE this year! Think Rock the Vote and how they team up with celebrities to spread awareness, only MUCH cuter and fluffier! Wag the Vote was started by our pal from Instagram, @Total_Oakley and his dog mom, Mary. If you have a pup and you want to join the team, send the @wagthevote2020 Instagram account a message to get signed up to participate and start using #wagthevote2020 to get involved!
Wag Your Voting Plan
Our first topic of conversation with Wag the Vote is “Wag Your Voting Plan.” I am someone who LOVES planning things and was so excited to vote in the 2008 and 2012 elections, but I was unable to because I did not plan ahead! My first year of college, I waited too long to get to the voting location, only to find out, my actual location was across town. It was almost time for the polls to close and as a college student, I just blew it off thinking that my vote didn’t matter.
In 2012, I was determined to vote for the first time, but again did not get to because I was unprepared. I tried to vote early because I was going to be going out of town during the day of the election, for a two week training for work. I waited to go try to vote until the polling location the day before my trip. The location was almost closing and I was met with an extremely crowded parking lot, so again, I left. I was “too busy” to wait in the long line. I finally voted for the first time in 2016 and it felt really cool!
Needless to say, we are so excited to be a part of the Wag The Vote team. Make sure you are prepared with your voting plan in place. Here are some tips for you to help make sure you are ready!
Having a voting plan includes:
- Checking your voter registration status (correct address, name etc), it takes less than 2 minutes. You can do that here at vote.org.
- Register to vote if you haven’t already. You can do that here.
- Decide if you plan vote in person or by mail. If you plan to vote in person, find your polling location. If you prefer to vote by mail, check your state guidelines and deadlines and request your ballot ASAP. If you are a Louisiana local like us, you can find the form to fill out here. The deadline to request a ballot by mail is Friday, October 30, 2020.
- Check with your state’s official election website for any changes to voting rules
- Talk to your friends and family to make sure they have a voting plan too!
- Research the candidates and see how they align with your own personal beliefs and values. Did you know that in addition to President Trump and Vice President Biden, there are actually two other candidates listed on the ballot? Howie Hawkins is the Green Party’s nominee and Jo Jorgensen is the Libertarian Party’s nominees and is a female candidate. You can learn more about the candidates here.
- Did you know there is a quiz you can take that will help you find out who best aligns with your values and beliefs? It is pretty neat and it makes you think about things that you may not have even thought about when choosing a candidate. You can find the quiz here.
- Don’t forget to research candidates who are running for local elections in your city or town. Those are just as important as the Presidential election.
- Talk to your family and friends to make sure they have a voting plan and offer to help them register, check their registration, get to the polls, etc.
Resources to help you Wag Your Voting Plan:
- vote.org
- vote.gov
- vote411.org
- whenweallvote.org
- rockthevote.org
- ballotpedia.org
- Isidewith.com
- joebiden.com
- www.donaldjtrump.com
- www.howiehawkins.org
- jo20.com
We hope this helps you “wag your voting plan!” We hope you will join the Wag the Vote team! You can find the Wag the Vote Instagram Account here.
