(651)788-7593
This October, the Civic Engagement Program is excited to help the community vote in the November elections! They will provide resources on how to register, request your absentee ballot, and learn about the candidates running for office. Additionally, they will be hosting Voter Workshops and phone-banking opportunities. While this election may look different from others due to safety concerns with the pandemic, voting is still easy to do, especially with the resources provided by KOM. To help you access these resources, we have outlined them below.
Registering to Vote
The Civic Engagement Program wants to help the community navigate through all steps of the voting process. The first step is to register. If you’ve never registered to vote, you will need to do so. Additionally, if you have not voted in 4 years, have moved, or have changed your name, you will need to register again. If you’re unsure about your registration status, visit the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website, enter in your information, and click “Find Registration”. If no registration can be found, you will need to register to vote at your current address. Select whether you’d like to register online, on paper, or on election day. For assistance registering, please contact Hta Thi Yu Moo, our Civic Engagement Coordinator.
Voting
The next step in the voting process is to decide whether you’ll be voting early by mail, early in person, or in person on election day. If you choose to vote by mail, you’ll need to request an absentee ballot. You can request a ballot here. Select “go to online absentee application” and fill out and submit the form. Your local election official should process your application within one week, after which you can track your ballot’s status.
Once your ballot arrives, you can either fill it out and mail it back in or wait to attend one of our Voter Workshops for more information on the candidates (see next section). When you’re ready to fill out your ballot, seal it in the pre-addressed and pre-paid envelope you received with your ballot. You can then drop it off at the post office, mailbox, or your county’s election office. If you live in Ramsey County, that office is located at 90 Plato Blvd. W, St. Paul, MN, 55117. If you choose to go this route, make sure that your ballot is returned to an official inside the building, whether that be through curbside service or by walking the ballot inside. Do not place your ballot in payment boxes or drop boxes. After submitting your ballot, you can continue to track it to see when it is received and counted.
Voter Workshops
If you’re interested in learning more about the candidates up for election, you may benefit from the Civic Engagement Program’s Voter Workshops being hosted on October 14th and 21st from 5 to 7pm through Zoom. At the workshops, we will cover the voting process for this year and the candidates in the nationwide election. Our goal is to help members of the community know where and how they can vote, as well as make informed decisions about who to vote for. The workshops will be presented in Karen. To sign up, please contact Hta Thi Yu Moo.
Phone Banking
If you’re interested in volunteering with the Civic Engagement Program, phone-banking opportunities are available this October and November. Volunteers will help community members register to vote, request their absentee ballots, and remind them to get out and vote.
There are two opportunities to phone-bank this fall: regular phone-banking and Get out the Vote. Regular phone-banking will take place 5pm – 8pm Tuesdays and Thursdays from now through October 22nd. Get out the Vote phone-banking will take place from 8am – 8pm between October 30th and November 3rd. For both phone-banking opportunities, shifts will last 3 hours. Due to safety concerns with COVID-19, phone banking will take place at home. However, virtual orientations will be provided via zoom prior to each shift. To volunteer, fill out our online volunteer application and we will help you sign up for a shift!
Happy voting!
