Helpful links

[RegularJackass]

How do I register to vote?
https://turbovote.org <-USE THIS

To learn how the election works, check this out:
https://www.usa.gov/election
https://www.voanews.com/usa/how-us-pres ... cess-works
https://www.archives.gov/federal-regist ... #selection

To learn how the election shouldn't work, but does, check this out:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services ... 2714001595
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_e ... _elections
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_sup ... ted_States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymand ... ted_States

To learn who the heck is running for office, what they've done, and their platforms, check this out:

Current candidates for president in 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/201 ... dates.html
https://ballotpedia.org/List_of_registe ... candidates

https://www.followthemoney.org Before you look up what they say, see who is paying them. To use the site, simply type in the candidate's name in the search bar. Hit enter. Then, on the left hand side of the page, click "candidates." Click on the candidate name. Or if it loads differently click "as a candidate." Then click "Top Donors" for a list.
https://www.ontheissues.org Quickly summarizes the viewpoints of each candidate
https://www.fec.gov has financial information about those who are running for President and other public offices
https://votesmart.org has more information about the candidates, as well.
https://ballotpedia.org/Sample_Ballot_L ... ot_sidebar
https://ballotpedia.org also has a profile for everyone who is running with what they've done professionally and so on, but of course, you still have to look them up on Google and so on.
A cheaty way to learn about candidates is to get a mail-in ballot, look at the unfamiliar names on the ballot, cuss, and then fire up Google and Ballotpedia. Boy is that fun.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DAMN BALLOT IS DOUBLE SIDED. I didn't notice when I first picked up the thing. Unfortunately, it is just as important to research everyone on that ballot as it is to know who the major political candidates are. Otherwise you wind up with crooks everywhere.

To research the judges on the back side of the ballot, go to www.ecosia.com and search for them. If you can find a state website which provides the published opinions of the judge in question, you're in luck. Click on one; voila, a court case. Focus on the sordid story after the dry introduction, and then the conclusion. Read a few of these if you have the time/patience. If you like the judges' reasoning, vote them in. If you don't, vote them out.

This is a helpful website:
www.turbovote.org
It helps you through the whole process of voting in local, state, and national elections.
There is also this helpful Instructable:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Fix-a- ... Democracy/
Another tool here helps you learn more about who is running in your local area and what they believe in
https://democracy2018.org/
Most states offer online registration; check your state government's website. Regardless, in all states you can mail in your registration form:
https://www.eac.gov/voters/national-mai ... tion-form/

Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE aka 1-866-687-8683 to confirm voter registration status and get questions answered about your polling place. Note; know your polling place ahead of time, and show up there as early as you can; know exactly when the polls open and close. I've had it changed at the last minute before to a place 1 hour away, and had only 30 minutes to get there. There are also all kinds of hurdles to voter registration depending on who you are, such as if you are Native American and don't have a "street address" because you live on a reservation. Check up on it; call the number.

If you are mailing in your ballot, be sure to fill it out and mail it ASAP to ensure no coffee spills on it, or you lose it, or rip it, or mark something wrong, or something. You know, better safe than sorry. There are directions on each mail-in ballot. Read them, and both sides of the ballot, completely. When you're done filling out the ballot and putting it in the envelope, put not one but three postage stamps on it. Crooks have excluded some mail-in ballots before on the basis of "this envelope was too heavy for the postal service to cover it" etc., so just to make sure, three stamps.

If you show up to your polling place to cast your vote, bring your ID with you and again, arrive very early, and as well-informed as possible.

This brochure explains voting and provides the websites of each state's election office: https://www.eac.gov/assets/1/1/A%20Vote ... ctions.pdf