Congratulations on a Great Election Day!
Here’s one last thing to tick off your checklist before we close out the 2018 midterms (a Vote Captain’s work is never done!):
Take stock of which team members had problems at the polls and do what you can to resolve those problems NOW. That may mean verifying their voter registration information with the Board of Elections to ensure they’re on the rolls correctly next time, getting them proper ID, or making sure that their provisional ballot (they cast one, right?) was counted! Handle these things early so that your team is ready for your state’s December runoff or town’s sneaky March school board election.
We have resources in our state voting guides that can help: Take A Look.
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Now, on to the fun stuff - results!
Tuesday night’s voter turnout was historically high for a midterm election! The New York Times estimates that 114 Million people cast ballots, which is 46% of eligible voters (a 50 year record). Turnout among voters 18-29 went up an estimated 10% as well!
And what were the results of all that voting? A few states voted to expand or add voter ID requirements (boo!), but there was great news for voting rights and inclusion as well:
Nearly 1.5 million people had their voting rights restored in Florida thanks to Amendment 4. That’s 10% of their population and an enormous win for democracy!
Voters in Colorado and Michigan established independent redistricting commissions. (Plus, Utah's independent redistricting commission initiative is ahead by less than one point. It’s still too close to call, but another potential win.)
Missouri voters established the first ever state demographer position and enacted new criteria to ensure the fairness of their state legislative district maps.
Maryland voters passed a ballot initiative to allow same-day voter registration.
Wins for diversity and inclusion were everywhere! A historic 103 women were elected to the House of Representatives! We elected the first Native American and Muslim-American women to Congress, first openly gay governor, first female senators from numerous states, and much, much more!
Though 2018 is wrapping up, we’re hitting the ground running because local elections are (always) coming up and 2020 is only two years away! We have lots of exciting stuff in the works, so if you’re interested in getting involved drop us a line at info@votecaptain.org!