VOTING MYTHS
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Forclosure Rules
Jury Duty
College Students
Failure to Vote
Moving
Arrest
Paraphernalia
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Debunking Voter Myths:
The Truth Behind The Rumors

I can't vote if my home is involved in a foreclosure.

TRUE & FALSE!

Voters who only received notices of foreclosure ARE permitted to vote!
  • Florida - If your home was foreclosed upon and you moved within the state to a new address, you can vote in your new precinct. Make sure to update your address at the polls.
  • Michigan - If your home was foreclosed upon and/or you moved before September 5, 2008 (more than 60 days before Election Day), you have to re-register at your new address to vote.
  • Ohio - If your home was foreclosed upon and you moved within Ohio, you can still vote on Election Day. Go to your new polling place if you moved within the county, and if you moved to another county, go to the new county's Board of Elections office. You can vote a provisional ballot.
  • Pennsylvania - If your home was foreclosed upon and you moved but did not update your address with the Elections Office, you can still vote a regular ballot at your old polling place one last time, as long as you are in the poll book or supplemental list. If you are not, make sure you are at the right polling place to vote.
  • Virginia - If your home was foreclosed upon and you moved within the state in the past year to a new address, you can still vote at your old precinct as long as you haven't changed or updated your voter registration.

If I vote, I will have to serve on a jury.

TRUE & FALSE!

Make sure to vote even if your state uses voter registration records to select potential jurors! Do not allow this connection to affect your right to vote!
See below for info on some key states:
  • Florida - Voter registration records ARE NOT used to select potential jurors.
  • Michigan - Voter registration records ARE NOT used to select potential jurors.
  • Ohio - Voter registration records, along with the driver's license list, ARE used to select potential jurors.
  • Pennsylvania - Voter registration records and driver's license records ARE used to select potential jurors.
  • Virginia - Voter registration lists and the driver's license list ARE used to randomly potential jurors.

I'm a college student so I can't vote if I live in a dorm.

Each state has its own rule. See below for rules in some key states:

  • Florida - Students who go to school in Florida and do not currently plan on leaving the state after graduation should be able to establish voting residency and vote using a dorm address. You must show current photo ID with a signature on Election Day. Student ID with a photo is allowed. If your student ID does not include a signature, bring another form of ID with your signature.
  • Michigan - Students may vote using a dorm address. ID is required at the polls for all first-time Michigan voters who registered by mail. Student ID is acceptable and your ID does not need to include an address. You can also use student housing bills with your address. If you're not a first-time voter, you can sign an affidavit and vote by regular ballot.
  • Ohio - Students who consider their dorm/school addresses their permanent home should be able to register and vote. ID is required, but photo ID is not. You may use cell phone bills, student housing bills, university-issued utility bills with your name and address, or any documents from a public college or university with your name and address.
  • Pennsylvania - Students may vote using a dorm address. First-time voters are required to show ID. Student IDs without your address, and utility bills or bank statements with your address are acceptable.
  • Virginia - Students may vote using a dorm address as long as you consider the dorm address your home and have no concrete plans to leave the state after graduating. If you're a first-time voter who registered by mail, you need photo ID. Student IDs from a Virginia state university may be used.
You will NOT lose your tax status or financial aid if you register to vote!
Check out http://www.brennancenter.org/studentvoting for more info on student voting!

I might have been purged or taken off the voter registration list if....
....I haven't voted in a while.

FALSE!

You cannot be removed from the list solely for failure to vote.

....I moved OR mail sent as part of a mass mailing was reported undeliverable to my address within 90 days before Election Day.

FALSE!

You cannot be removed from the list solely because you moved or mail that was sent from a mass mailing was undeliverable to your address. The registrar first has to send you a confirmation of your registration notice AND then allow you up to two federal general election cycles to respond to the notice or to vote. Federal general elections occur in November of every even-numbered year.

I can be arrested at the polls for owing child support, outstanding warrants, or unpaid traffic tickets.

FALSE!

You will NOT be arrested for any of the above by undercover officers!
The only exception is in Tennessee; because of a recent court ruling, if you are an ex-felon in Tennessee, you can be prevented from voting because you owe money but there's no indication that you will be arrested.

I can't wear Obama or McCain paraphernalia (t-shirts, buttons, etc.) to the polls.

TRUE & FALSE!

This is a state-specific rule! You might be allowed in some states, but not in others. If you are not allowed and you wear Obama or McCain paraphernalia anyway, you'll have to remove it, turn it inside out, or cover it up to be allowed into the polling place.