Post-Super-Tuesday March Update
Several more states hold their primary votes on Tuesday, March 10, and these allow same-day registration on that date: Idaho, Michigan, and Washington state. Furthermore, more states vote the following Tuesday, March 17, and Illinois allows same-day registration on that date. Furthermore: If you live in Wisconsin, you can register until March 18! If you live in Wyoming, you can register until March 20. If you live in Rhode Island, you can register until March 29. And if you live in Pennsylvania, you can register until March 30!
more information
Make your voice heard! If you are not yet registered as a Democrat, then understand that you need to do so in order to vote in the Democratic primary in your state. Some deadlines have passed, but many others have not. Some states even allow registration right up to the day of their primaries! So please check your registration (remember some messing around goes on and you might find yourself unregistered, but you might have time to fix it!), and register if you are not currently registered.
Especially if you are a young person, vote in your primary! The Democratic Party needs young blood and new life. It can benefit greatly from your participation!
minimum age requirements to vote
In all states, all citizens can vote when 18 years old. That means you can register when you are 17 years old, if you will be 18 by the time you vote. In some states, you can vote in the Primaries when 17, if you will be 18 by the time of the General Election. In other states, you can only vote in the Primaries if you are 18 at the time of the primary. If there is any question, i.e., if you are 17, since all rules are subject to change, check with your local party office.
Should you be able to vote as a 16 year old? Yes, but it hasn’t been made legal yet in the U.S. You can get involved in politics even if not eligible to vote, and you could make lowering the voting age your issue! More info at the above link.
voter registration deadlines by state
In the table below, the earliest deadline is listed as they can vary according to method of registration — online, by mail, or in person. However, several states allow for same-day in-person registration, so that column is listed separately where it occurs. Please do NOT wait until the last day, whenever possible: Give yourself plenty of time in case of unforeseen complications with your registration! And recheck your registration often; contact authorities right away if it disappears before primary day! Business Insider was cross checked against USA Today (where there are discrepancies, the earlier date is listed; “Maybe” indicates one source said yes voters could register in person on the day of the primary and one source said no voters could not, so be sure to check with your state). Update: For all entries with discrepancies, I checked with each state (Update 2: and/or the state’s Democratic party) and changed the table accordingly. For those, the source of information is linked right in the table. In summary, those states whose registration deadlines have not (entirely) passed include:
registration deadlines after march 1
state |
deadline |
register in person day of? |
alaska
alaska
|
April 4 — president
July 19 — state
|
YES
No
|
california |
Feb. 17 |
YES (March 3) |
colorado |
Feb. 24 |
YES (March 3) |
connecticut |
April 23 |
No |
district of columbia |
May 12 |
YES (June 2) |
delaware |
April 4 |
No |
guam |
April 22 |
No |
Hawaii
hawaii
|
April 4 — president
July 9 — state
|
YES
No
|
idaho |
Feb. 14 |
YES (March 10) |
illinois |
Feb. 18 |
YES (March 17) |
indiana
kansas
kentucky
|
April 6
April 11
April 20
|
No
YES (May 2)
No
|
louisiana |
March 4 |
No |
maryland |
April 7 |
YES (April 28) |
maine
michigan
|
Feb. 11
Feb. 24
|
YES (March 3)
YES (March 10)
|
minnesota |
Feb. 11 |
YES (March 3)
|
montana |
May 4 |
YES (June 2) |
north dakota |
Day of only! |
YES (June 9) |
nebraska |
April 24 |
No |
new jersey |
May 12 |
No |
New mexico
new york
|
May 5
April 3
|
No
No
|
oregon
|
April 28
|
No
|
pennsylvania |
March 30 |
No |
rhode island |
March 29 |
No |
south dakota |
May 18 |
No |
utah |
Feb. 2 |
YES (March 3) |
virgin islands |
May 7 |
No |
vermont |
Day of only! |
YES (March 3) |
washington state |
March 2 |
YES (March 10) |
wisconsin |
March 18 |
YES (April 7) |
west virginia |
April 21 |
No |
wyoming |
March 20 |
YES (April 4) |
For more information — to check my accuracy! — and for contact links for every state, please click the Business Insider link! You can also Google it; for most locations, you want to contact your Secretary of State.
So Srsly: Whether you’re an enthusiastic online supporter of Bernie Sanders or Liz Warren or Pete Buttigieg or any other Democratic candidate, if you really want to support them, you have to vote for them! And in order to vote for them, you have to be registered, often a bit in advance! So please check that you are registered, check that you stay registered. Also check that you have proper ID, know where you go to vote, and otherwise follow all da Rulez. You will then also be ready for November. After you vote, you will be glad you did!
Please Note: Your humble diarist is NR, but please consider yourselves +1 as long as you behave! :-D
Update: h/t belinda ridgewood and mettle fatigue:
As noted above, there’s not only an issue of registering, but of registrations being lost. So more details here:
CONFIRM YOU ARE REGISTERED, REPEAT REGULARLY,
AND GET YOUR FAMILY AND OTHERS TO DO THE SAME!!!
FIGHTING VOTER SUPPRESSION STARTS AT HOME!
- Many folks here have been surprised to find that their or a family member’s registration has mysteriously disappeared, even though it had been active. Don’t wait until too late to catch and correct this bullshit.
- HEADCOUNT.ORG will direct you to your state’s Department of State/Division of Elections (or similar) webpage, which is the horse’s mouth, as it were.
- Or, google something like “am I registered to vote” plus your state, and go to your state government’s page directly.
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And if you are already registered and ready to do more!
🌟 GOTV 🌟
🌟 POSTCARDING: If you are looking for a way to help and can’t do things like canvassing or phoning, consider hand-writing postcards asking people to vote. It’s easy because you’re given specific talking points from the campaign you’re working with, so you don’t have to think up what to say, and no one will be coming back at you with questions. And if you like to color, you can get creative decorating the cards. Note that you are responsible for buying postcards (and stamps if you don’t use pre-stamped ones.) Postcard stamps are 35 cents each; pre-stamped postcards from USPS are 39 cents each; two different pretty designs. If you can spend a little more, the two postcarding sites below sell their designs; or, searching the phrase “postcards to voters” on Amazon will show you many designs.
To get started:
🌟 PERSONALIZED LETTERS: Similarly, you can do more good than you might expect by writing personalized letters (from a template) to Democrats who are unlikely voters, adding a brief personal statement about why you VOTE EVERY TIME. Studies have shown this can boost turnout by enough to make a difference. As with postcards, you get names/addresses for these voters in targeted districts from the website, fill in the letters, address/stamp/fill the envelopes, but then, you hold them and mail them on Oct. 27, a week before election day! Note that, as with the postcards, you are responsible for buying envelopes, paper (no special paper required), and stamps. First class letter stamps are 55 cents each. (A new Gwen Ifill stamp just came out!)
For more info:
🌟 If you can do more, do it! These are just things you can do at home at 3 am. Some of us have the wherewithal to do more, and we should! No one is coming to save us. Act accordingly.
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