Where do I vote? US midterms: state-by-state guide to voter ID, voting booth opening times

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/where-do-i-vote-us-midterms-statebystate-guide-to-voter-id-voting-booth-opening-times-9837983.html

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As Americans prepare to vote in their midterm elections, here is a run-down of the information and guides you need to cast your ballots.

Voters can see our list of states and information on how and where to vote below, as opening times will be staggered across the continent.

Citizens should have been told their designated voting location on the sample ballot that Americans receive in the post and on their voter information card.

One hot topic this mid-term will be voter ID. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) ranks the strictness of each states photographic identification policies.

The NCSL defines ‘strict’ as when: “a voter cannot cast a valid ballot without first presenting ID.” In these cases voters can be given a provisional ballot, which will only be counted if the individual comes back with their ID in the days immediately following the election.

If you are voting today and you live in Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, or Virginia you need to remember your full photographic ID. Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Rhode Island, and South Dakota also implement a photo ID policy – although it is not as strict.

Residents of Arizona, North Dakota and Ohio need to remember their ID, but it does not have to be photographic. Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Washington should also try and bring theirs along – but it is not vital.

California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming do not require ID to vote – so if you live in any of these places you haven’t got any excuse not to cast your ballot.

A word of caution - North Carolina and Wisconsin will have also strict photo ID laws but are not yet in effect.

The issue of voter ID has proved controversial as proponents allege it will help to prevent electoral fraud, while its detractors – among them civil rights activists and the Obama administration – say that the restrictions are designed to discourage some groups from voting.

Residents of the District of Columbia will also head to the polls today. The unusual arrangement was decided after the US government realised it did not want the nation's capital to be controlled by a state official - hence the unsual arrangement today.