Patent Law

Justice Thrives in a Healthy Democracy: California Voting Information Here

By Les Weinstein, Michael Young, John Leo Wagner, Eric van Ginkel, and Victoria Pynchon

Over at the Settle It Now Negotiation Blog, I've asked legal bloggers in every State to post a page devoted to helping voters exercise their right to participate in re-creating the government by consent that a democracy guarantees us.

Because I'm in Nevada, I posted Nevada voting information on the negotiation blog.  You can also find voting information for Illinois, Nebraska, Texas and New York as I write this post for Californians.  Hopefully, we'll have the entire country covered by day's end.

Find your California voting precinct by clicking here!

In California, you might be required to:

1. PROVE YOUR IDENTITY
   1. your voter registration affidavit was required to include your California driver’s license or state identification number or the last four digits of your social security number if you did not have a current and valid California driver’s license or state identification card.
   2. First time voters who registered by mail and DIDN'T provide this information at the time may be required to show a form of identification when they vote.
2. TO SEEK CALIFORNIA VOTER ASSISTANCE contact your county elections official who you can find here.
3. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHETHER YOU ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE  contact your county elections office.
   1. The registration deadline was October 20 in California so if you are not yet registered to vote in California, you may not vote. 
   2. If you are registered to vote in another state, google "absentee ballot" with the name of your State to see whether you can still vote absentee. 
4. VOTING BY ABSENTEE BALLOT IN CALIFORNIA
   1. it's too late to obtain an absentee ballot in California
   2. if you already have an absentee ballot, it MUST be received by the county elections office by the time polls close on November 4 at 8:00 p.m.
   3. Late-arriving vote-by-mail ballots are not counted.

IF YOU'VE LOST YOUR VOTER ELECTION GUIDE, HERE IT IS ON THE INTERNET

A lot of first time voters in Nevada (where I've been for the last week+) are voting only for President because they do not understand the issues.  We here at IP ADR urge everyone to acquaint themselves with all of the issues (see election guide above) so that your voices can be heard on all critical matters facing the voters of the State of California this year.

Nearly all of us fought for the right to vote at some point in American history.  My own grandmother was able to vote in the first general election after which women achieved the right to cast a ballot.  Honor those who fought for our rights and honor yourself as a knowledgeable citizen with the power to make a difference in your own life and the lives of those you care about.

VOTE ON NOVEMBER 4!

More resources:

The California League of Women Voters

The California Voting Rights Act of 2001

Proposition 8 Voting Guide Materials

Presidential Candidate Statements

General Information on Provisional Voting (.pdf)

Advice to First Time Voters (.pdf)

What if We Had an Election and Everyone Came? (.pdf)

NPR's Election Issues Page

And for those who are really into it -- the Election Law Blog.

Full post as published by IP ADR Blog on October 29, 2008 (boomark / email).