Registering To Vote
Why do I have to register to vote?
The reason lots of states use registration is requirement for voting. Is the way to make sure the qualified people are allowed to vote. It's a security check, you give your drivers license, you give your list for digitally self security number. It's a way of registering with you want to belong to a political party or not. Its a way of controlling who goes where and then we know how many voters are in a certain area then every 10 years we got design the praising s base on how many registered voters over on that area. So we actually set up the polling places to accommodate the people that registered to vote all that possible because, we know how many people are going to vote in specific area.
How do I register to vote?
It's so simple it's in California it's a post card ill going to show you again theirs no posted you can just put this to mailbox you fill out the simple form and mail it at least fifteen days before the election row much better and you got little card back saying you been register now this form are available at the post office at the dean the business bank you can also get this form going online if the secretary state office will send you a form you have a signature so you cant register online because they want your signature so but you can get the form and down load it and sign and send to the back secretary state so you can send to your local register voters.
Do I ever have to re-register to vote?
There's only a couple reasons you have to re-register, and one of them is very important. If you move. If you move, and don't tell the registrar where you're living, they'll send the information, like your sample ballot, to your old address, and it's not forwarded. You won't know where to go to vote. You don't know where your polling place is, you don't know who's on the ballot, you don't know what's on your ballot. It's important that you re-register every time you change address. Big problem for college students, since they move all the time. The other reason is if you change your name. If you get married, or decide to change your name, you have to re-register... or if you want to change your political party.
Why do I have to choose a political party when I register?
You do not have to register for a political party it's your choice. You register for a political party if you want to take part in the process of selecting the candidates to represent that political party in the general election. For example, the people that register for the democratic party will vote for the democratic cadidates for the presidency. The people that register for the republican party will vote for the republican nominees for the party. The greens will vote for the greens, the american independents will vote for the independents. No matter what political party it is, you participate in their primary. In the selection of the candidates. Now just say you don't want to do that, you don't have to. You put a check next to "No" on or "Other" on the form and then you become what we call a "Do not select". "Do not select" voters still vote. They vote on the ballot measures, they vote on all the state wide candidates that are the non partisan candidates. A lot of parties do not control all the candidates. For example, all your local candidates are non partisan; your judges are non partisan. There's a lot of state wide offices, like superintendent of public instruction is non partisan. So, there are things to vote for even if you don't want to participate in a political party's decision.
I've never heard of some of the parties on the registration form- what are they?
We call them the third level parties or the minor parties. They're not minor, for people they're very important. They become on the ballot by getting a certain amount of people to vote in the last governortorial election, then they become legitimate and they're on the ballot. And they do it by, a lot of it is by signatures and they have meetings in neighborhoods. The 'Greens' have been very active in this neighborhood where I live. So there is a possibility of third party candidates getting on; and of course they're on all ballots. They, the third party candidates do participate in the political process.
What if I don't support one political party?
Come November all the parties candidates are going to be on the ballot, not just the one that you signed up for. So even if I'm registered for one party, I can vote for any parties candidate when I come to the general election in November. It's only in the primary that you can only select the candidates from your party.
What if I register, but my name isn't there when I go to vote?
Ever since the federal government got into the act after the 2000 election with their Hava legislation, we have, all the states have what they call a provisional ballot. If you go to the polls and you do not find your name on the roster, it does not mean you cannot vote. You fill out, in California it is a pink envelope, and you give your information, and you put your signature on it, and that is like an affidavit that you are entitled to vote. And then they get you a ballot and you vote it and it goes back into this envelope. And after election night, they start looking at all of these provisional ballots and they check them one by one to make sure that you are entitled to vote. So a lot of people that moved and forgot to register, vote this way. So the new address and stuff becomes your new registration form. If you are in the wrong voting place though, of course they have to go through your ballot and mark off the ones that you were not entitled to vote for. You are only allowed to vote for the ones that you are registered to vote for.
Why don't I get to vote for the same things as my friends do?
We have a representative government. We choose the people that represent us in Congress, we choose the president who represents us, we choose assembly, state assemblymen, state senators, we vote for city council, we vote for all these people. A lot of them, they're by district. So different people in different areas vote for different candidates. So your ballot will look different than mine. You live in the community right next to me, but your ballot will look different than mine.
Can I register to vote in more than one place?
No! You can't register to vote in more than one place. If you do, you're breaking the law and they'll find you, eventually, and it's not good.
How do 'motor voter' laws work?
We want people to participate in election processes so we wanted to make it easy as possible. When people move, the first thing they do, they worry about getting their car registered in the new state they are living in. So we said "Why aren't people able to register to vote when they change their car registration?" So we fought very hard for that, and now when you register your car there is a thing you can check off that you want to register to vote and you have to sign a thing and then you can register right at the DMV in the same process.
