Episode Transcript
Transcript:
Intro: This is words that move me, the podcast where movers and shakers, like you get the information and inspiration. You need to navigate your creative career with clarity and confidence. I am your host master mover, Dana Wilson. And if you're someone that loves to learn, laugh and is looking to rewrite the starving artist story, then sit tight. But don't stop moving because you're in the right place.
Dana: Hello. Hello and hello. Welcome to Words That Move me. I'm Dana. And this is my super tired voice. Today was a seven hour zoom day. I was in seven hours of audition callbacks and man, no, man. I'm speaking at my computer screen apparently is something that I do not have much stamina for. I'm working. I'm learning, I'm getting better at it. And I am so stoked about the subject of this podcast today. Tired voice or not. I am here with some important information.
If you are listening to this podcast on the day of its release, October 3rd, 2020, then voting day is exactly one month away. And you may be a little overwhelmed right now by all of the pressure, not just to vote, but to make an informed vote. You may be thinking “God, everyone is telling me to vote, but nobody is telling me how.” Well I am certainly not going to tell you how to vote. And by that, I mean for whom you should vote, but I'll leave that up to social media. Kidding. Not really. I did just discover that advertisers spent $1.4 billion on digital political ads during the 2016 election. Whoa, honestly, though, that makes sense. Think about how much time you spend on the internet. How much time do you spend scrolling? That's where you spend your time. That's where they're going to put their ads. I guess it makes perfect sense. Which brings me to my win for the week. My win this week is that I learned a lot by watching the Social Dilemma on Netflix, highly, highly recommended. Yes, some of this information may be common knowledge by now. It's not really a secret that there are teams and teams of engineers, whose job it is to ensure that you will spend more time on their platform. Yes, these are people who are working explicitly to make social media more addicting. Oh man, Oh man, we will probably be getting into that in a future episode. But for now I want to hear about your wins. I want to hear about what you are learning right now. Let's hear it. That doesn't feel right. Does it? It doesn't feel right when I don't say what's going well in your world. What are you learning in your world? Yeah, that feels right. Hit me.
Alright, great. Rock on, rock steady, keep winning. Okay. This week we're talking about how wildly important it is to use your voice, to make your own decisions and to know not only how, but by when you'll be casting your vote, this election. Warning and full disclosure, this episode is going to make me sound much more together than I actually am. I have a research assistant. Her name is Riley Higgins and yes, she is the best. And yes, I have a research assistant. I have a research assistant so that you don't have to have a research assistant. Consider this episode, your voter encouragement assistant. And my first piece of encouragement is this. It is honestly no harder to Google your questions about voting than it is to Google best restaurants near me. Really, really, truly. If you have ordered food online, you can absolutely register to vote and become a well informed voter. Listen up people over 18 people under 18. You're up next. Here we go. If you remember one thing from this entire episode, remember vote.org All of the important information is there in one place, vote.org And then if you remember two things from this episode, remember, A. vote.org, but also remembered that it is really cool to vote and it's even cooler to be an informed voter. So let's get into it.
Step number one, to get the most accurate information on how to vote, visit your state election office website, just Google your state's name and election office website. There you have it. Step Two, to register to vote at. Yup. You guessed www.vote.org/register-to-vote On that website you can also check when the last day is that you are able to register to vote in your local County. If you are in LA, then the last day to register to vote online is by Monday, October 19th, 2020, to register my mail. Your mail has to be postmarked by Monday, October 19th, 2020. If you're in New York, you must register online by October 9th or by mail host marked by October 9th or in person on October 9th. Again at vote.org You can check when the last state is that you're able to register in your local County. Go while you're there vote.org Step three, double check to make sure that your registration went through. You'll do that at vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote So practical, right? Easy peasy, lemon, squeezy vote.org Am I registered to vote? You got this step four. You can add yourself to a list that will remind you of upcoming elections from now until forever because let's face it. Yes, this election is super important, but every election is super important. Let's go! To make sure that you're registered for reminders. Go to you, guessed it. vote.org/election-reminders That takes us to Step five. If you're able to vote in person, look up your local polling place. Do not leave this to the day. Have a plan. To find your closest polling place. Visit vote.org/polling-place-locator Again, super logical, totally obvious. And if you go to vote.org, all of this is literally right there in your face, but I'm going to say it because I don't want anybody to tell me that I didn't say it. So here I am saying it. vote.org/polling-place-locator Now you know where to go to find your local polling place. Alright, step six. And this one is technically optional, but listen up. Cause it's also technically really important. There is a national shortage of workers to help at these polling places. So if you are able become a poll worker, guys, don't take that the wrong way. The best way for you to volunteer, to work at a polling place near you is to go to www.eac.gov/help-America-vote#section-sign-up that's eac.gov/help-america-vote#section-sign-up That is how you can volunteer to help at your nearest polling place. Super important, super cool. Step Seven mail in your absentee ballot. There is a deadline that's different in every state of when you can request your absentee ballot and a deadline for when you have to mail it in, it must be post-dated by November 3rd, no matter where you live, but your deadline to request the mail in ballot is different depending on where you live. Usually you would need a reason to request an absentee ballot. Like I'm a dancer on tour, but because of COVID almost everyone can request an absentee ballot depending on their state. In some States you'll automatically be sent a mail in ballot in LA, you must request an absentee ballot by October 27th, you have to return it by mail postmarked by November 3rd, or you can also return them in person at a polling place near you on November 3rd, by 8:00 PM. If you're in New York, your absentee ballot has to be requested by October 27th. And if you're returning it by mail, it has to be postmarked by November 3rd, you can of course return it in person on November 3rd and in New York you have until 9:00 PM. Awesome, amazing. So important. Moving on Step eight, if you don't know if you'll be voting in person or by mail, get a mail in ballot. This gives you options and we love options. This gives you convenience and we live convenience. If you decide to vote by mail, you can. And if you decide to vote in person on election day, you still can. Even if you've already received a mail in ballot, either you will exchange your uncast absentee ballot for an in-person ballot or you'll complete your absentee ballot and hand it in in person. If you forget to bring your absentee ballot with you, you may be able to cast a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are counted only once your election officials verify your voter status. The deadline to a completed absentee ballot hand delivered is Tuesday, November 3rd, by 8:00 PM. If you're in LA or 9:00 PM, if you're in New York, okay, Step nine. We're getting so close to the end. You guys, if you are in college, every state is different, but you may be able to vote in the state that you're going to college in. So check with your college and check with your home state as well. Super, super important. All right. Step 10. Most States have early voting this lets registered voters vote on specific dates before the election day. So just do that because one of my favorite people on the planet, Marty Kudelka says ‘early is on time. On time is late and late is fired.’ It's important that you know that the election is already underway. Statistically, most people still vote on November 3rd, but there are a ton of ways for you to vote early. If you are informed vote.org alright. Now for my under 18 years, step one, and you guys only have two steps, how about that? Step one, some States actually allow you to preregister to vote so that when you turn 18, you are automatically registered to vote. Is that the coolest thing? I think it's the coolest thing. I think that's a very cool thing. Step two. If your state doesn't have that option, then vote.org has a pledge to register page and they'll remind you when you turn 18 to register and how you can do it. So yes, even if you are under 18 vote.org is the place for you to go so that you can make sure you are preregistered or at least pledged to register to vote. Okay. Now that we've talked about the, how let's talk about the, what, this is not just a presidential election, although that is certainly what is getting the most buzz. Local elections and amendments are up for vote in this election who represents you locally has a direct impact on the way you live. So make sure you're researching your federal candidates, your state candidates, your local candidates and your judicial candidates. These are our favorite websites to help you understand what is actually on your ballot. ballotpedia.org
That's B A L L O T P E D I a.org. Rockthevote.org That's R O C K T H E V O T E.org and vote411.org That's V O T E the number four, the number one, the number one.org. Also you can get involved with local candidates by looking on their websites. You can also find the virtual town halls where they might be speaking about specific issues. And you'll also be able to ask questions in those forums. How amazing is that actually be there, actually get the answer to your actual question. That is available to you. All right, wrap up summary, vote.org is the place. Also, if you're a first time voter or an anytime voter who wants to feel a little bit more supported and their knowledge and understanding of what is going on right now, How to Vote in Every State is the YouTube channel for you. They give very clear information on the how to vote, but also how to be informed, how to digest political ads, how to do your research, how to follow where the money is coming from. So, so valuable. All right, everybody, that was me serving as your voter encouragement assistant. And right now I would like to encourage you to take the rest of the time that you would have spent listening to a full length podcast to go through this checklist, visit the websites that I've mentioned and call or text a friend, to tell them about everything that you've learned, help somebody. If they're struggling to get this done, do it for yourself, do it because you have a voice do it because it matters so much more than ordering food online. All right, my friends, that's it. Go use your voice and go keep it funky. I'll talk to you soon.
Thought you were done. No. Now I'm here to remind you that all of the important people, places and things mentioned in this episode can be found on my website, theDanawilson.com/podcast Finally, and most importantly, now you have a way to become a words that move me member. So kickball change over to patreon.com/wtmmpodcast to learn more and join. All right, everybody. Now I'm really done. Thanks so much for listening. I'll talk to you soon.
