How To: Voting Rights Toolkit

July 21, 2017

Welcome to the ACLU of Alabama’s voting rights toolkit! The right to vote is the very cornerstone of our democracy. At the ACLU, we believe that registering and voting should be as easy as possible.

Download the voting rights toolkit →

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Complicated regulations, unnecessary voter ID laws, and redistricting has stalled and clogged the voting rights machine. We need to amend these problems and make sure that everybody knows and exercises their voting rights to ensure that our nation is representative, democratic, and fair.

This toolkit is designed with a very simple purpose in mind: To present clear, effective guidelines for both exercising your right to vote and going out in your communities to empower others to do the same. We hope that this toolkit will be able to inspire and effectively teach best practices around organizing for voters’ rights.

This toolkit is meant to be a “living” document, meaning that there is no static criteria. Take out parts of it, improve on some areas, tear out others: use this document in a way that will make sense for your particular community and goals. Each section in the toolkit will give you a brief overview of tips and tricks for achieving your goal, and there are relevant resources that explain the issue in further depth at the end.

If you have a question, want to talk more about the information, or are interested in hosting a workshop around this document, please reach out to the ACLU of Alabama.

Happy Voting!

Important Dates and Deadlines

For the 2018 Midterm Elections

May 21, 2018 - Voter registration deadline for the primary election
May 31, 2018 - Last day to apply for an absentee ballot for the primary election
June 4, 2018 - Last day for voter to hand-deliver or postmark an absentee ballot
June 5, 2018 - Statewide Primary Election
July 2, 2018 - Voter registration deadline for the primary runoff election
July 12, 2018 - Last day to apply for an absentee ballot for the primary runoff election
July 16, 2018 - Last day for voter to hand-deliver or postmark an absentee ballot
July 17, 2018 - Statewide Primary Runoff Election
October 22, 2018 - Voter registration deadline for general election
November 1, 2018 - Last day to apply for an absentee ballot for the general election
November 5, 2018 - Last day for voter to hand-deliver or postmark an absentee ballot
November 6, 2018 - Statewide General Election