Know your polling location before Nov. 3.
James Martin/CNET
This story is part of Elections 2020, CNET’s coverage of the run-up to voting in November.
You registered to vote and have everything you need to cast your ballot on Election Day, like an ID card — but do you know where your polling place is this year? Due to the coronavirus pandemic, your usual polling location could be somewhere else to better accommodate your county’s social distancing protocols. In some areas, polling places could be at a different location for early voters than it is for those voting on Nov. 3.
If you’d like to avoid the polls this year, you can send your ballot by mail (here’s how it works for your state) and even track it to ensure it arrives at the election office. You can also choose to vote early at your polling place to avoid the long lines. What you shouldn’t do, however, is attempt to vote by mail and cast a ballot in person, because double voting is a federal, and often local, crime punishable by fine and/or incarceration. Also beware you’re not engaging in voter intimidation practices, which are illegal, and know how to report if if you see it.
Now that we’ve got all that cleared up, here’s how to find your polling place on Election Day this Nov. 3.
Use Vote.org
1. Open vote.org on your desktop, tablet or phone.
2. Tap Polling Place Locator.
3. Select the state you’re registered to vote in from the list.
4. The information you’ll need to enter will vary based on the state you live in. For example, Kentucky requires residents to enter their full name, date of birth and the last four digits of their social security number in order to find your polling place. In California, you only need to provide your address.
Note that the polling location information may not be available yet, so you may have to keep checking for updates.
Contact your local county clerk
If the information for polling places isn’t available online yet, you can contact your local county clerk’s office to see if they can provide you with more details. They may also be able to let you know when the voting information will be sent out in the mail, if you haven’t received it yet.
Ready for more voting information? Here are seven ways to make sure your vote counts in the 2020 election, how to stay safe while voting in person and what you need to know about voting by mail, online ballots and polling places.
