Starting a few months ago, as the election got closer, voters began to worry about the postal services ability to handle the new volume of mail in ballots.

Although much of this worry was politicized propaganda from the right, trying to dissuade voters from voting entirely, as evident by the postal services ability to handle the billions of christmas cards that will get sent just a few weeks, it is obvious that there is an orchestrated effort to reduce the liberal vote.

The Californian Republican party even admitted that they placed misleading ballot boxes across their state that government officials said could lead to election fraud, according to an Oct. 12 New York Times article.

It’s almost a week until the United States Presidential Election and this year, it is more important than ever to make absolutely sure your ballot makes it through.

Due to the nature of our current political climate, there is so much that we need to do in preparation for this election. First things first, research who you’re voting for. 

One thing first-time voters might not expect when opening up their ballot is that not only do you need to choose a president but you may see options for a representative or senator. You might see local elections and local choices or ballot initiatives.

You can look at sites like whosontheballot.org to see who your candidates are. This site also provides helpful links to the candidates websites and social media accounts.

Your next step should be to see if you are properly filling out your ballots.

When filling out your ballot make sure you are properly filling in the ovals. Remember to sign your ballot where it says to sign and use your official signature. Also, remember to check it twice (or even more than that!) before sealing it up. 

There has also been much confusion about postage and if you need to put a stamp on your ballot or not as well as how many stamps you need. The United States Postal service will postmark all ballots that are mailed by voters, whether they are prepaid by election officials or mailed with a stamp by the voters, according to the USPS election mail page. 

After getting your ballot filled out and sealed, you can either mail it out through USPS or can drop it off at different drop boxes around your area. Many of these drop boxes are usually located in City halls and libraries. Before dropping them off at these boxes though, make sure you are at the right box, as there have been instances of unofficial drop off boxes, as seen in California. 

Remember to look up to see where your areas drop boxes are and look up pictures to see what they look like. If you’re registered in Vermont, there are drop boxes at City hall, the Department of Public Works, Miller center, and Fire Station 2. 

You can also track your ballot once it’s mailed. To do this, you’ll usually need a confirmation code, name, address, and social security number to be able to track your ballot. 

Remember your vote is important, especially right now, so make sure you fill out your ballot correctly and check in very carefully and get your vote in before there’s no time left!