What might be the strongest power that we have as citizens of the United States is our ability to vote.
In fact, that power has even more power in local elections - just like the ones coming up on Tuesday, November 5th, 2019!
Unless you live in North Dakota, in order to vote you have to register first. Lucky for you, registering to vote can take less than five minutes - to make that process as quick and painless as possible, here are four questions to ask yourself, with nifty links to help you get to the right place.
(Hey! Before you continue, please make note that the online registration deadline to vote is Tuesday, October 15th, 2019 --> fifteen days before the actual election.)
1. Am I eligible?
There are three main criteria. Essentially, you are eligible as long as:
1. You are a U.S. citizen.
2. You're 18 years old on or before Election Day (you still need to register - if this applies to you, check your state's specific requirements!
3. You meet the residency requirements of your state (being homeless doesn't mean you're ineligible!).
If you're still unsure, remember that not everyone can vote. A lot of voting rules depend on the state, but the typical restrictions include felony convictions or not being a citizen.
2. How can I register?
If you know that you are eligible, the next step is to register!
Online registration is a lot less painful than you might expect. In most cases, it can take less than five minutes to complete! Vote.gov is my personal favorite because it makes the process very simple and sends you directly where you need to go.
Thirteen states do not have online registration - if you happen to live in one of those states, the tool will show you the specific steps that you will need!
3. Am I already registered?
Wait - are you already registered? It only takes 30 seconds to check!
If you're a college student, you might already be registered, just in your hometown. If you want to change your voting address so that you can vote for the district that you currently live in, you will be able to do so on your state's election portal. If you live in a state that does not offer online registration, you can still find information on how to go about changing your address via the same site.
4. Exactly who, or what, am I voting for?
At this point, whether you just registered or were registered before now, you probably still have one more (very important) question on your mind: what, or who, are you preparing to vote for?
As I'm sure you know, the upcoming presidential election isn't until November 2020.
So, what elections are even happening next month?
This answer is that it depends on your state, but many states will be having elections for Senate, the House of Delegates, and a variety of local elections for officials, boards, and more.
In my opinion, we have the most power as voters in local elections. It is so critical to vote within our own communities because that is how actual change happens - it all starts from the ground up!
This is a great tool that actually shows exactly what your ballot will look like in November. From there, use your preferred search engine to do some research on the candidates. If this will be your first time voting, there aren't little blurbs beside the candidates' names; all you'll see is names beside boxes that you'll check off - being an informed voter is an AMAZING quality to have and you'll be able to feel confident in your decision!
After asking yourself these four questions, keep the momentum going and ask four (or more!) friends if they are registered yet!
Want to do even more? Contact your local campaign officers and volunteer! I spent last fall in a fellowship where I made phone calls and went door-to-door promoting my candidate, and I loved every second of it!
