vibe check: are you registered to vote?

Registering to vote is one of the easiest ways to make sure your voice is heard,  period.

In many states across the US, young voters can pre-register to vote before your 18th birthday and be ready for the ballot box when you hit 18; you just have to be 18 years of age by election day. In Texas, you can register to vote at 17 years and 10 months old, which means 2 months before you turn 18 you can big flex that main character energy and register in advance.

Cool. Cool. So where do you register to vote?

In Texas, there are a few options to register to vote, so just pick what works best for you! One of the easiest ways to register as a student is to talk to your principal as Texas Election Code requires principals to serve as deputy voter registrars and they can help you fill out your application and get it sent over to the local county election office. Another way is when you are at community events and see folks out registering people to vote, you can get an application, and they can help answer any questions too! If you aren’t a people person, you can still slay the ballot box by registering through a few other options like printing the application available through the Secretary of State (SOS website: https://vrapp.sos.state.tx.us/index.asp) and mailing it in or you can register to vote when you renew your driver’s license at the DMV. However you decide to register, it’s giving responsible citizen vibes and no doubt you can’t vote if you aren’t registered.

I’m registered to vote but I am leaving home for school, and I won’t be home to vote on election day. What do I do?

Have no fear because the information you seek is right here. If you’re leaving either out of the county or out of state, you can still stay woke and stay registered. Here’s a few options:

 

    1. Register where you live. In Texas and most other states, you need to be registered to vote in the county where you live. For example, let’s say you’re living on campus or have an apartment near your school but it’s in a different county from where you lived when you were at home with the parents. You can update your voter registration online through the Texas Secretary of State (SOS website: https://txapps.texas.gov/tolapp/sos/SOSACManager?utm_source=child_voter&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=texasgov) or you can talk with a voter registrar with the county where you are going to school.

    1. Going to school out of state. If you are going to school outside of Texas, other states have different options on how to register where you are living. Visit the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) website where you can go to find the information by each state on how to register in that state: https://www.nass.org/can-i-vote/register-to-vote

    1. Voting by mail.  You don’t have to be old to request a ballot by mail. You qualify to complete the application for a ballot by mail if you are going to be out of the county where you are registered for election day or during early voting. For example, if you are in school in Florida, are you going to come home to vote? If the answer is no and you have not registered to vote in Florida, you can request a ballot by mail and still vote in Texas elections. Visit VoteTexas.Gov through the Texas Secretary of State for more information about ballot by mail and to access the application online: https://www.votetexas.gov/voting-by-mail/index.html

At the end of the day, your vote is your voice and if you want things to be different for you, your friends, your family, and your community, then take the steps to register to vote. Remember, you MUST be registered to vote 30 days before election day in order to vote and you have to register in order to cast a ballot.

Future Voter Loading….