The American Democracy Minute for Oct. 18, 2022
🎧 Listen!
Brian is out today. This is a rebroadcast of the September 27 ADM.
Today’s Links
Articles:
Vote.org – Voter Registration Rules for All 50 States
USA.gov – Find Your Local Election Office
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – REGISTER AND VOTE IN YOUR STATE
Groups Taking Action:
Nonprofit Vote, League of Women Voters, Center for Voter Information, Voto Latino, Alliance for Youth Action
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
If you’re not registered to vote, today, we’re giving you some basic guidelines on registering: Who qualifies, how a criminal record can affect registration, and resources for getting more specific information.
All states require that you be a U.S. citizen, and 18 years old to vote. Some states, like Connecticut, allow you to register at 17 years old, if you will be 18 by election day. States including Florida and Hawaii allow registration at 16, but still require you to be 18 to vote.
In many states, you must be living in that state for 30 days or more to register, such as Montana, Michigan or Mississippi. New Hampshire and Oklahoma consider whether you are “domiciled” in those states, spending most of your time over the year in that state. New Hampshire has many out-of-state vacation home owners and college students.
If you are incarcerated, convicted of a felony, on parole, or even have completed your sentence, whether you can register varies widely. For most states, if you’re currently incarcerated for a felony, or have been convicted of an election crime, you can’t vote. In some states like Missouri, that felony can keep you from voting – ever. In other states like Maryland or Massachusetts, completing your sentence & parole reinstates your rights.
If you’re allowed to register, in most states you’ll need a government-issued ID, proof of your citizenship (which can be the ID), and proof of your residence, like tax & utility bills. Do it now, not later!
Links to a list of requirements for all 50 states can be found at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.