It's Cooling-off day! The day where we are no longer bombarded with "Vote for me!" from any party and we can sleep in knowing we won't be unsuspectingly visited by candidates, gifted with flyers or hear roving party messages.

Now if you're voting tomorrow (Friday, September 11), especially for the first time — or if you feel like it's simply been too long since 2011 until you've forgotten what you did last time — you'll want to exercise your vote in the most sagely and practical manner possible.

Here's a checklist of things to do today and tomorrow:

1. Check to make sure you are eligible to vote, which constituency you are registered under, and where you have to go to vote.

By now, you should have received your poll card in the mail, which should look like this:

The key information is captured here — your name, your constituency, your polling station and its location. And as you can see, each member of the family registered to be residing in the household will be listed, one space each.

HOWEVER, just in case for some reason you DIDN'T get your poll card, check online here for the details. You DO need your poll card in order to vote, though, so quickly call the Elections Department (1800-2255353 or for overseas folk, call +65 62255353) or visit a community centre to get another one.

Remember also that the constituency you are living in may not necessarily be the constituency you will be voting in, either — if you recently moved and did not update your address on your IC with the police in time, it is highly likely that you will be voting based on the previous address you were registered with.

If your name was for some reason struck off the register of electors, then game over, better luck next time — you'll have to apply to get your name added back to it. Follow the instructions here. If you will be or are currently overseas and can't vote, also game over — you'll be struck off too and you'll have to re-apply later on as well.

2. Prepare yourself as a voter to make an informed choice.

Well, that's what the past nine days (and a bit more, in the run-up to Nomination Day) were for — unless you've been living in a hole, you'll have noticed that various political parties have held rallies, done walkabouts and house visits, and distributed flyers in a bid to help you get to know who they are and win your support.

Go ask your parents who might be staying with you — maybe they met the candidates at a market nearby.

Just returned home from abroad, perhaps, and have no idea where to start? Once you've got your constituency information (which GRC or which SMC you're in), click here to go to our nifty election microsite, which lists all the constituencies and shows you all the candidates and parties who are standing for election there — basically, who you will be choosing between.

We've helpfully placed a few stories tagged to the constituency you belong to under the "News" section that follows the list of candidates, that looks like this:

We also strongly advise that after checking where you are voting and who the candidates standing for election in your constituency are, you should visit the various parties' websites to:

- read their party manifestos 

- search for the candidates standing in your constituency and learn more about them.

(Some questions you can ask yourself while finding out more about a candidate include:

What's this person's background?

What have they said during the campaign period?

What do they stand for?

What issues did they say they plan to champion for me, as a resident, in Parliament, if elected?

Is this person's beliefs in line with mine?)

- speak to trusted friends or family members who might know more about the candidates.

But don't trust hearsay unless you know your friends whom you talk to are trustworthy and reliable — it's always best to do your own research to be sure.

3. Plan when you are going to vote:

Voting opens tomorrow from 8am to 8pm. If you have to work, find time out before or after work to vote! Tell that unreasonable boss of yours that you will be breaking the law if you don't vote, if he doesn't give you time off.

Try to avoid morning peak hours as the waiting time is longer.

Importantly, these are the things you must have with you to vote:

a) Your IC, passport or 11B (or other military/police/SCDF identification you might have)

b) Your poll card

Note that your driver's licence, expired passport or photocopy of your IC/passport will NOT be accepted.

Do it with your family, perhaps, since it's a public holiday! But if you can't, be sure to cut your own poll card out from the others and bring it to the polling station with you.

4. Go and vote, lah.

So polling day rolls around! Go to the polling station.

There might be a line of people waiting to vote, and if there is one, join the queue. Can't go wrong. And even if you are wrong, there should be people to direct you.

You'll approach a table with a person sitting at it. Hand over your poll card and IC and the person seated there will scrutinise it and make sure you are the person you claim to be. If all's good, you'll be handed this voting slip:

If you're voting in an SMC:

And if you're voting in a GRC:

As you can see, the right-most box on each row is where you will be marking your choice, in the form of an "X". Take this slip handed to you, walk straight to a polling booth and put the "X" in the space you pick.

Make sure no one's nearby who could see who you're picking, and fold the paper into half, making sure no one can see the choice you've made. Pop it into the ballot box, which should be located behind the polling booth (or election officials will guide you to it), and you're done!

Or if you are more interested in videos, here's something for you:

Now we've got one final task for you:

5. Tell your family and friends about all that you've learned from reading this, especially if they haven't been following the campaign or aren't particularly interested in the whole process!

Better still, share this so all your Facebook friends will be in the know.

Now go forth and vote! The Mothership.sg team bestows you with our blessings.

Top photo from video

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