There are only a few days left to vote in what AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka calls the most important election of our lifetimes.

Tuesday is the last day to vote. Do you know where your polling place is? You have a busy schedule, do you need a reminder on Election Day? Have you made sure that all your friends and family are voting, too? Have you made a plan to vote?

If you make a plan to vote, you’ll actually be more likely to vote. Makes sense, right?

And we have the tools to help you.

Federal law does not require that employers allow their workers time off to vote, but the majority of states have at least some level of protection for employees who want to leave work to engage in their civic duty. The specifics vary by state, but in each state, the rules apply to almost every type of workplace. Employers are required to know what the laws are and to provide adequate accommodations, according to the rules of that state. Nearly all of the states allow employers to refuse time off to vote for those employees who have two or three hours off during the time the polls are open (the number of hours varies by state).

This from TPM:

A panel of federal judges ruled late Thursday that a Florida law that limits the number of early voting days cannot be implemented in several counties because it
would have an adverse impact on minority turnout.

The early voting restrictions are part of a voter suppression package the Republican-controlled state legislature passed last year. Other provisions included disenfranchising 100,000 previously eligible ex-felons who'd been granted the right to vote under Republican Gov. Charlie Crist in 2008 and shutting down non-partisan voter registration drives. In May, a federal judge blocked enforcement of the provision restricting non-partisan voter registration drives.

Some say young voters are apathetic this election year and not likely to go to the polls.

Popular YouTube personality Soul Khan tackles this challenge head on—with messages that resonate about what’s at stake for young voters if they don’t get out and vote to re-elect President Obama.

With an entertaining rap, Khan gets in the face of young people with messages like:

U.S. military veterans severely criticized Mitt Romney today for supporting laws limiting the right of residents to vote in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, where Republican-controlled legislatures recently enacted new voting laws. In a press conference this morning, the veterans also took Romney to task for accusing President Obama of suppressing the vote of military veterans because the Obama campaign filed a lawsuit seeking to block an Ohio law that restricts a successful early voting program.

Good news in from Texas. This from Think Progress:

A federal judge in Texas has blocked a key provision of the state’s recent voter suppression law that limited the ability of outside groups to register new voters.

The law, which was passed by the Republican-held legislature in an emergency session last year, placed new restrictions on groups like the League of Women Voters, making it significantly more difficult for them to register voters. The law also imposed a strict voter ID requirement for the state, which has since been blocked by the Department of Justice.

Going door to door in a Phoenix neighborhood to register voters, Mari Yepez, a canvasser with UNITEHERE!, met a man who told her he didn’t believe in voting. Yepez, a student at Arizona State University who has worked with the union to mobilize residents around such issues as the state’s harsh immigration law and the struggle to find good jobs, shared with him how she had come to realize the importance of voting.

“We as a community have to come together to make this happen,” Yepez told him. “Imagine what we could do if we all joined together.”

The man ultimately not only registered to vote but was enthusiastic about going to the polls in November.

With tea party politicians attacking voting rights in states throughout the country, Yepez and other volunteers across the nation are trying to make sure every eligible voter can cast a ballot and that every vote will be counted. Together with community groups, unions and the AFL-CIO, these volunteers are making every vote count.

Find out more here.

WI

Polling places are running out of ballots in Milwaukee and people are walking away from polls without voting. We Are Wisconsin is tweeting out locations that need forms.

Help get out the word by tweeting this: 

EMERGENCY ALERT: Here are addresses of wards that need more registration forms. Pls print and take! http://bit.ly/JK4IY7 ‪#wiunion‬‪#wirecall

Barbara Niccoli-Hiltz from the AFL-CIO field staff sends us this report.

After Maine Gov. Paul LePage and the state legislature repealed the state’s Election Day voter registration earlier this year, the Protect Maine Votes coalition, which includes the Maine AFL-CIO, went to work gathering signatures to put repeal of the measure before voters this fall. Last week, the coalition submitted 69,296 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office, well above the 52,277 needed for the referendum to qualify.

Jessica King becomes the second Democrat to win in today’s Wisconsin recall elections. King defeated Gov. Scott Walker (R) crony Randy Hopper in Senate District 18. Democrat Jennifer Shilling (D) was declared a winner earlier this evening over incumbent state Sen. Dan Kapanke (R) in Senate District 32.