Washington, DC – SEARAC joins our partners and other national advocacy organizations to encourage our communities to make a plan to vote in the November elections. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and many states have options for voting early by mail or in-person to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The results of the 2020 election will have implications on the Southeast Asian American community for years to come, and your vote counts. Read on for some tips and tools to ensure that you can vote safely this year. And if you can’t vote? No problem! Sharing valuable information with members of your community who can is just as important.
Vote By Mail
This year, several states will allow all voters to request absentee ballots due to the risks of voting in person while we combat COVID-19. Absentee ballots can be filled out at home and mailed back to your local board of elections. Some states also allow absentee ballots to be dropped off at the Board of Elections offices or in dropboxes around your community. To find out whether your state will allow voting by mail / absentee ballots due to COVID-19, and any important deadlines, click here: https://www.vote411.org/COVID
Vote Early
To reduce long lines and large crowds on Election Day, this year many states have also expanded early voting options. This means that select polling places will be open for limited hours before Nov. 3. To find out whether your state has early voting and what the timelines are for early voting in your community, visit https://www.vote.org/early-voting-calendar
More Information on the Candidates
SEARAC is thrilled to launch our 2020 Presidential Election Voter Guide, now available with written and audio translations in: Hmong, Khmer, Lao, Mien, and Vietnamese. (Note: We are still finalizing the Lao formatted voter guide, but the audio version is currently available in Lao.) It is our hope that with these written and audio translations of our voter guide, you, your loved ones, and our communities feel empowered to make an informed vote on Election Day, or before if you are voting early.
What to Expect on Election Day
Every eligible voter should have their voice heard and their vote counted. Because of early voting and voting by mail, it is going to take longer to count the votes and verify a winner in this year’s election — and that’s okay. Absentee ballots take longer to count because of security measures to verify the accuracy of those ballots. Some states can’t even start counting absentee ballots until after polls have closed on election night. Plus, due to the pandemic, election officials will be working with reduced staff. We need to be patient so election officials can take the time to make sure every eligible vote is counted accurately.