Voting Eligibility
To be eligible to vote in the United States:
- You must be a United States Citizen
- You must be a resident of the county you submitted your application in
- You must be at least 18 years old on Election Day
- You must not be a convicted felon
- You must not have been declared by a court as totally or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote
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- Ben Thompson, "November 2020 election: Who's on the ballot and how to vote in Montgomery County", 9/28/2020
Find out how to vote in Montgomery County and who is on the general election ballot. - Pew Research Center, "Election 2020: Voters Are Highly Engaged, but Nearly Half Expect To Have Difficulties Voting," 8/13/2020As Democrats and Republicans prepare for their party conventions, a new national survey finds high voter engagement with the presidential campaign – and a record share saying it “really matters” who wins in November when it comes to making progress on important national issues.
- Barbara Sprunt, "Will 2020 Be The Year Of The Young Voter?," 9/12/2020Young people could wield significant political power: Millennials and some members of Gen Z comprise 37% of eligible voters, roughly the same share of the electorate that baby boomers and pre-boomers make up, according to census data analyzed by the Brookings Institution. But for decades, youth voters have showed up at the polls in low rates. Will this election year be different?
- Jessica Pearce Rotondi, "Vote-by-Mail Programs Date Back to the Civil War," 9/28/2020Voting by mail can trace its roots to soldiers voting far from home during the Civil War and World War II. By the late 1800s, some states were extending absentee ballots to civilian voters under certain conditions, but it wasn’t until 2000 that Oregon became the first state to move to an all-mail voting system. Here is everything you need to know about the history of absentee voting and vote by mail.
- Olivia B. Waxman, "Voting by Mail Dates Back to America's Earliest Years. Here's How It's Changed Over the Years," 9/28/2020Living through the COVID-19 pandemic has been compared to living through wartime. Now, the list of parallels is growing: according to a New York Times analysis, when Americans vote this November election offices could receive more than double the number of mailed ballots they received in 2016.
- Amy Dacey, "Who formally declares the winner of the US presidential election?," 9/14/2020With the U.S. presidential election rapidly approaching at a time of extraordinary political and social disruption, the possibility of an unclear or contested result is coming under scrutiny. So who actually confirms the winner?
- Megan Brenan, "Economy Tops Voters' List of Key Election Issues," 10/5/2020As the nation remains in a pandemic-induced recession, U.S. registered voters say the economy is the most important issue of 16 that may potentially affect their choice for president. Nearly nine in 10 registered voters consider the presidential candidates' positions on the economy "extremely" (44%) or "very" (45%) important to their vote. Find how the other 15 issues rank.
- Becky Little, "7 Firsts in US Presidential Election History," 8/20/2020U.S. presidential history is filled with “firsts.” First president? George Washington. First president to die in office? William Henry Harrison. First president to serve two non-consecutive terms? That would be Grover Cleveland, who won the 1884 election, lost the 1888 election, then won again in 1892. Find out seven presidential election firsts.
- Katherine Schaeffer, "Key facts about women's suffrage around the world, a century after U.S. ratified 19th amendment," 10/5/2020This year marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees women the right to vote. But the United States was hardly the first country to codify women’s suffrage, and barriers to vote persisted for some groups of U.S. women for decades. Here is a closer look at the history of women’s suffrage around the world.
- Kim Parker & Ruth Igielnik, "On the Cusp of Adulthood and Facing an Uncertain Future: What We Know About Gen Z So Far," 5/14/2020One-in-ten eligible voters in the 2020 electorate will be part of a new generation of Americans – Generation Z. Born after 1996, most members of this generation are not yet old enough to vote, but as the oldest among them turn 23 this year, roughly 24 million will have the opportunity to cast a ballot in November. And their political clout will continue to grow steadily in the coming years, as more and more of them reach voting age.
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Fact Checking - Resources provide you with the tools to determine whether or not the information being presented is accurate and unbiased. |
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Candidate Campaign: Platform & Funding - Resources with information on candidate’s political platform and how their campaign is funded. |
opensecrets.org isidewith.com votesmart.org followthemoney.org
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Polling & Issue Information - Resources provide information on current polling data on both candidates & issues. |
people-press.org fivethirtyeight.com 270towin.com pollingreport.com realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls
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Texas Election Informaton - Resources for local and state elections. |
votetexas.gov sos.state.tx.us/elections mctx.org/election isidewith.com/texas-voter-guide lwvtexas.org/elections.html
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Voter Registration - Visit these websites to complete your voter registration: |
- Vote! The Podcast
Spread The Vote's podcast helps people empower themselves to be heard at the polls: with IDs, registration, education, and turnout. Recent episodes include “Make a Plan & Read the Directions!”, “Making Sense of Your Ballot”, and “How Can I Get My Friend to Vote?”. - CNN Election 101Whether you’re a political novice or longtime expert, this podcast will bring something new and vital to your understanding of what it means to be democratically elected. Recent episodes include “Introducing: Election 101”, “Voter Registration”, and “The Vice President”.
- Slate Political GabfestVoted “Favorite Political Podcast” by Apple Podcasts listeners. Stephen Colbert says, “Everybody should listen to the Slate Political Gabfest.” The Gabfest is hosted by Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz.
- The NPR Politics PodcastEvery weekday, NPR's best political reporters are there to explain the big news coming out of Washington and the campaign trail. They don't just tell you what happened. They tell you why it matters. Every afternoon.
- FiveThirtyEight's Politics PodcastNate Silver and the FiveThirtyEight team cover the latest in politics, tracking the issues and “game-changers” every week. Recent episodes include “The Vice Presidential Debate Was Civil. But Did It Shake Up The Race?” and “The Politics Podcast Answers Your Questions About The Forecast”.
- Motivote- Lone Star College Votes
The November 2020 election is coming up, and this is your one stop shop for getting involved! Not only can Motivote help you with this, but you can also earn prizes for your engagement in the election! Everyone is encouraged to participate: Students, Staff, Faculty, & Community Members! - LSC-Montgomery Center for Civic EngagementCivic engagement means promoting the quality of life in a community through both political and nonpolitical processes. It teaches many different executive skills such as: grit, self-control, zest, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and curiosity. These skills aid students well into the future as they finish degrees and enter the workforce. Check out the LSC-Montgomery Center for Civic Engagement website for detailed information about voting, elections, and more.