How to Register To Vote

This might seem obvious, but you'd be surprised by how not obvious it is

This is part 1 of my How to Vote Guide. It will be posted in full once all parts are out. I don’t want to overwhelm anyone by posting the full guide now.

There are a lot of barriers to voting, and some of them, luckily, are not laws, but rather confusion, also known as voter disenfranchisement when it’s deliberate. That means that by clearing up the confusion more people will vote. That’s the goal anyway.

Please don’t hesitate to comment with any questions, I will try to answer as many as I can.

Here we go!

Registering to Vote

If you are 18 and elligible:
There are so many ways and places you can register to vote. Your Secretary of State website or your County election website is always the best, but other options include: TurboVote, RockTheVote, League of Women Voters’ Vote 411, Vote.gov, and you can get a voter registration form in person at most libraries and the DMV.

HOWEVER, IF YOU REGISTER IN TEXAS, YOU CAN’T REGISTER ONLINE. It is the only state in the nation that still has this requirement. You can still fill out the form online, but you must print it and send it in, and they must RECEIVE it at least 30 days before the next election. You can find all info on registering to vote in TX on the Sec of State website.

Some states allow same-day registration, but some states, like TX above, do not. You can find your registration deadline on Vote.org. It’s not a date, it’s a number of days before the next election, so, once you know the formula, you can apply it to all future elections.

If you’re not yet 18:
Depending on your state, you can either pre-register or get a registration reminder on your 18th birthday. In some states, you can preregister as early as 16 years old. If your state allows preregistration, you fill out the entire registration and it activates on your 18th birthday. You can find out which applies to your state at Rock the Vote, which is just a great resource for everything voting-related. If your state doesn’t allow preregistration, you can get a registration reminder from Turbovote once you turn 15.

If you’re a former felon:
You may assume you can’t vote, but that’s not true in all states. You can find the rules for your state at The National Conference of State Legislatures. This is another fantastic resource to keep bookmarked.

If you are not a citizen:
You CANNOT vote in federal elections for any reason ever, HOWEVER, there are a small number of cities that allow anyone over 18 to vote in municipal elections. In my view, if you have the right, you should absolutely exercise it.

San Francisco - Non-citizen parents and guardians can vote in school board elections

Burlinton and Montpilier VT, and Tacoma Park MD - legal residents can vote in all municipal elections

You can find more info in this NPR article.

Checking your Voter Registration

Here’s where things get a bit tricky. All these voter registration rules seem like a one-time thing, but in reality, just because you registered to vote once, does not mean you are still registered to vote now. If you have an election coming up, check your voter registration status about two months in advance, so if something goes wrong you can rectify it while you still have time to reregister. You can check your voter registration at the same websites where you can register to vote, and you can even check your voter registration online in TX! However, for every state, you will find the most accurate and up-to-date info on your county election website.

Some states may remove your voter registration if you haven’t voted recently, and “recently” varies by state, not to mention human error happens, so don’t cry “conspiracy” if your voter registration isn’t there, just register to vote again.

However, especially near nationwide general elections, Republicans may try to purge voting rolls and may do so in the days and weeks leading up to the registration deadline, so you should be checking your registration more frequently leading up to major elections.

Primaries

Most people reading this probably know the importance of general elections, but many of you might not know that much about primaries or why they belong in a post about registering to vote.

Primaries are where you make your choices for the general election. For partisan races, who will represent that party.

Different states have different rules around primaries. Some states have an Open Primary, where anyone can vote for any party, and that includes unaffiliated voters, but in some states, you must be registered with the party whose primary you’re voting in.

So you must know which kind of primary your state uses to determine your party affiliation when registering to vote.

One last note on that, even if you are an independent in a closed primary state, you are only barred from voting in partisan races. Ballot measures, School board, City City Council, Judges and Mayor are some examples of non partisan races, and you can vote in them regardless of party affiliation, so don’t sit out a primary just because you’re not affiliated with a party. You can find out which type of primary your state has at The NCSL.

Where are you Registering From?

For college students and those voting abroad, something that is so simple for the rest of us might not be so simple for you.

For college students, I recommend this guide from vote.gov it breaks down the pros and cons of reregistering at college very well.

As for voting abroad, the US Department of State currently has a great guide that walks you through the entire process.

And that’s it for this post.

If you aren’t registered to vote already, I hope this helped demystify some things and convinced you to do so.

Always remember, your vote is your voice and that voice is your superpower!

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