Here’s hoping you sail through the line at your polling place. But, just in case, here’s some advice that can help prevent problems on Election Day:

• Sample ballots. Get one before you go to the polls. Chances are you will make wiser choices, plus the line will move quicker. You can visit here to download sample ballots for St. Louis and the counties of St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson, Franklin and Lincoln in Missouri, and St. Clair and Madison counties in Illinois.

• Confirm your polling place. This could make a difference in whether your vote gets counted. Again, you can find links here that will help you locate your correct polling place.

In St. Louis or St. Louis County, if you are directed to a different polling place, you have another option: City residents can vote at Election Board headquarters: 300 North Tucker Boulevard downtown, while county residents can go to 12 Sunnen Drive in Maplewood.

Or you can call the hotline numbers below to get polling place information, as well as to connect to help with other problems you might face at the polls.

• Push for a regular ballot. If you face problems relating to your registration or questions about whether you are in the correct polling place, an election official might invite you to vote with a provisional ballot. Politely insist on casting a regular ballot, and ask the officials what is required for you to do so. Once again, you can call the hotline numbers below for help and advice.

• Bring ID. First time Illinois voters who registered by maile must bring a valid photo ID, but Missouri voters and other Illinois voters do not. A utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government document that includes your current address will do. Missouri voters can use a driver’s license from any state or an ID card from any college, university, vocational or technical school in Missouri.

• Ask for help. If you have a disability that prevents you from waiting in line, ask to move to the front. If you have a hard time reading or writing, you can bring a friend with you to the voting booth — and that friend need not be a registered voter or a person older than 18. You have a right to bring your children with you to the polling place.

• If you mess up. . . If you make a mistake when marking your ballot (it’s called “spoiling” a ballot), you have a right to a new one. Ask a polling official for a new ballot, but make sure you don’t cast the spoiled one.

• Dress for success. Don’t wear that campaign T-shirt or cap; you could be turned away because election laws forbid “electioneering” in polling places. Leave the campaign advertisements at home.

• Chill. Be prepared for lines that are longer and slower-moving than you would like. Just take a deep breath, relax and be patient. And remember, every voter today becomes part of history.

Hotline numbers
Missouri Secretary of State: 1-800-NOW-VOTE
Illinois State Board of Elections: 1-217-782-4141
Election Protection: 1-866-OUR-VOTE