Category Archives: citizenship

A Short Break from Science

Register to Vote

For the U.S.-based readers of this blog, voter registration deadlines are coming up fast. This year’s election is an important one no matter which candidates and issues you support. So, please register to vote if you have not done so. Some deadlines are coming up in the next few days.

When you DO register, make sure you spell everything correctly, right down to the name of the street or building you’re living in. If you have recently lost your home due to hurricanes and storms, there are preparations in your area for you to register,but you must do it soon. Go to the county clerk where you are living and ask them for help. (Read this interesting blog entry for more information:  http://www.groupnewsblog.net/2008/09/after-disaster-how-can-i-vote.html)

If you have been foreclosed and have moved from your home, you may register to vote where you are currently living. If you have been foreclosed and you STILL live in your home while trying to make arrangements to pay or move, you can still vote in your home’s precinct. Check with your county clerk, but it is NOT true that simply being foreclosed is a reason for anyone to purge you from the voting rolls.

If you are a student, check with your local secretary or voter registration office, but in most states, students can register to vote in the states where they go to school, provided they aren’t registered to vote elsewhere. You can fix this by registering in your school’s state, or by voting absentee in your home state.

If you think you are registered to vote, you should check your registration anyway with your local elections office — some states are purging their voter registration rolls, and many correctly registered voters are mistakenly being removed from the rolls. You may not find out about this until you go to vote. Check it now while there’s still time to correct any “mistakes.”

For information on registration, check the following sites:

An article on what the upcoming deadlines are

Rock the Vote

League of Women Voters

Voting and Elections at USA.gov

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Voting for Americans Living and Traveling Abroad

State by state Election Laws and Registration Deadlines

Guide to Voting Day issues

Election Protection: You Have the Right to Vote

Time is short… please make the most of your rights as a U.S. citizen to vote and make decisions for yourself and our country.