Hi, Neighbors and Friends, Here’s the latest information re Free Rides to the Polls/Satellite Voting Offices. Please distribute this list widely so that everyone who needs a ride to vote or to turn in their mail-in ballot knows how they can get one. I also want to alert people who requested a mail-in ballot but have not received one that this weekend (October 24 & 25) you can go to one of the satellite voting offices listed below and explain the situation, and they can re-issue you a mail-in ballot there. If you want, you can then fill out and turn in the ballot immediately. And I want to thank very much the people who responded to my earlier e-mail by volunteering to drive people to the polls/satellite offices. I have passed their info on to interested groups. Vote! jai Free Rides to the Polls/Satellite Voting Offices in Allegheny County (This information is provided as a public service by janet jai, MLA, Vision and Values, vision-and-values.com.) The African-American community is leading the way in providing free rides to the polls and satellite voting offices in Allegheny County. B-PEP (The Black Political Empowerment Project) started providing free rides for voters the first weekend the satellite offices were open. Other groups also geared up to provide free rides for voters. Details on all are below. 1. Roll to Polls: B-PEP (The Black Political Empowerment Project) provides voters anywhere in Allegheny County with free rides to the Elections Office downtown Mon-Fri, to the satellite voting offices on October 24 & 25, and to the polls on Election Day, November 3. To arrange a ride before Election Day, call 412-212-8775. On Election Day, call 412-434-0919 to arrange a ride. Here are B-PEP’s excellent COVID PROTECTION GUIDELINES: - Wear your mask, drivers and riders (no mask, no ride). - Sanitize your hands upon entering the car. - Sit only in the backseat passenger side for maximum distance. - Roll down your window for maximum airflow. - Sanitizing wipes will be provided to drivers upon request. - One rider per car or three per van. For personal safety, B-PEP also provides driver names to riders and rider names to drivers. Before getting into a car, make sure your driver has told you his/her name and knows your name. See B-PEP poster attached. 2. VEEEM Pittsburgh is a faith-based, nonpartisan community organization dedicated to increasing voter turnout in the Greater Pittsburgh area. They are offering: Free Rides To Cast Your Vote on Election Day, November 3 to voters anywhere in Allegheny County. To schedule a pick-up, call SD Transit, 412-242-1998. Please call 24 hours in advance. See VEEEM poster attached. 3. Take Action Mon Valley (www.tamv.org <http://www.tamv.org/>) is providing Allegheny County voters in the Mon Valley (McKeesport, Duquesne, Braddock, Rankin, West Mifflin, Clairton, Whitaker, etc.) with free rides via Lyft, Uber, or volunteer drivers to the Satellite Voting Office at CCAC South Campus in West Mifflin on October 24 & 25, and to the polls on Election Day, November 3. Call or text 412-440-8268 to request a ride. 4. The Black Vote Coalition provided safe, free, socially distant bus rides from Hill District senior hi-rises to the Hill District Voting Satellite Shop-N-Save on October 17 & 18. 5. Uber and Lyft are offering voters discounted rides to the polls on Election Day, November 3. Uber is offering 50% off roundtrip rides to and from the polls (up to $7 each trip or $14 for two trips). Using the code 2020VOTE, Lyft is offering 50% off one ride up to $10 to any polling location on Election Day. Cautions re both Covid and your physical safety: 1. When you arrange a ride with any of these groups, ask for their covid guidelines in advance to make sure you’re comfortable with them (see B-PEP’s excellent list above for guidance.). 2. No matter which group provides you with a free ride to the polls, they should tell you in advance the driver’s name and should provide the driver with your name. Then when a car arrives to take you to the polls, make sure the driver tells you his/her name and knows your name too. There are some bad actors out there. No one wants anyone getting into the wrong car, and no one wants anything to happen to the wonderful driver volunteers, most of whom are giving their time freely to make sure that everyone can vote. Some gentle reminders: Be patient when requesting or waiting for a ride. Don’t do anything to distract the driver during the ride. Thank your driver. Check on friends/neighbors who might need a ride to the polls. Let them know about these groups. Where and when you can vote over-the-counter OR drop off your voted mail-in ballot: Now through October 27, Monday-Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, you can vote over-the-counter at the Elections Division Office, Room 601, County Office Building, 542 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh PA 15219. You can also drop off your voted mail-in-ballot on the first or sixth floor of the County Office Building. Between October 27 and the end of the day on November 3, you can still drop off your voted mail-in ballot at the County Office Building but you cannot vote over-the-counter there. Over-the-counter Satellite Voting and Ballot Drop-Off Locations: Saturday, October 24 – 9 AM to 5 PM and Sunday, October 25 – 11 AM to 7 PM !!This weekend these satellite locations can also provide you with a mail-in ballot if you applied for one but did not receive it.!! County Office Building, 542 Forbes Avenue, Room 601, Downtown Pittsburgh, 15219 Boyce Park Ski Lodge, 790 Center Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15239 CCAC South, 1750 Clairton Road, West Mifflin, PA 15122 CCAC Allegheny, 845 Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15233 North Park Ice Rink, 1200 Pearce Mill Road, Wexford, PA 15090 You can vote at your polling place on Election Day, November 3 between 7 am and 8 pm (but you CANNOT drop off a voted mail-in ballot at your polling place). Note: If you are in line at your polling place at 8 pm on Election Day, you must be allowed to vote.