Be sure you vote, and during the pandemic, vote safely

As we count down to Election Day on Aug. 18, all registered voters need to take responsibility for their vote.

This means learning about the individual candidates who will appear on your ballot prior to filling in the boxes on the ballot. This is a primary election focused on local races for county offices, school board and the state legislature, but these are just as critical as the upcoming election for President. These local offices effect our lives directly.

The ballot for this election is short. It’s one page, with races on both sides. It won’t take long to vote, but knowing in advance who you are going to vote for in each race will speed the process. Go to www.browardsoe.org and click on “View Your Sample Ballot.”

The nonpartisan League of Women Voters has a website with voter information so voters can compare the candidates at www.Vote411.org. We never endorse a party or candidate. Although the Sun

Sentinel endorses candidates, the questions they ask of candidates and candidates’ responses can be viewed by readers independent of the newspaper’s endorsement decisions.

Beyond learning about the candidates prior to voting, voters also need to take responsibility regarding the process of voting.

Using vote-by-mail is very convenient and safer in this time of a pandemic, but you must follow directions. Unlike at the polls, there is no one to tell you what to do to be sure your vote counts. The responsibility is on you, the voter. If you are voting by mail, you must sign the return mailing envelope or your vote will not be counted. This is a primary reason why a vote-bymail ballot is not counted.

You also must be sure that your vote-bymail ballot arrives at the Supervisor of Elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots that arrive too late is another primary reason why they are not counted. Thousands of ballots remain unopened, and uncounted, due to late arrival. If you are worried that your vote-by-mail ballot won’t arrive if you rely on the postal service this close to Election Day, then drop off the ballot at any of the early voting locations during voting hours or drop it off at the Supervisor of Elections’ new 24⁄7 dropoff boxes. Unfortunately, they are not drive-up boxes like the kind at post offices, but they are located just a few steps from your car.

Voting in person at the polls, either during the early voting period (Aug. 8-16) or on Election Day, Aug. 18, also entails responsibilities.

The main one during the COVID-19 pandemic is to wear a face mask. The people at the Supervisor of Elections office are doing their best to ensure a safe environment for voting, including having face masks, sanitizer and single-use writing pens available. But that will all be wasted if voters don’t do their part to maintain the safe environment by wearing face masks.

If you vote on Election Day, it is your responsibility to go to the correct precinct location. This can be found on your voter information card. If you don’t have a card, go to www.browardsoe.org and click on “where do I vote?”

Be aware, there may be last-minute changes in polling locations if a site has to close due to the COVID-19 virus or another reason. Simply stay calm and go to the new location. On Election Day there are thousands of volunteers, mostly elderly, who manage the precincts. These men and women all feel so strongly about the importance of voting that they are willing to literally risk their lives this year so you can vote. Be responsible in return: Wear a face mask when you go to the polls.

If you become ill in the final days before election day, you can still vote, but it will require the help of a trusted individual. You must complete an election day voteby-mail delivery affidavit, available at https://www.browardsoe.org/Portals /Broward/Documents/Voting%20 Methods/DSDE136_Election_Day _Absentee_Ballot_Delivery.pdf.

Someone can take the completed affidavit to pick up your ballot at the Supervisor of Elections office for you, bring it to you for voting, and then must bring the voted ballot back to the elections office by 7 p.m. on Aug. 18.

No excuses — just vote! But be a responsible voter, follow directions and wear a mask if you’re voting at the polls.