Your Right To Vote

Your right to vote is near to my heart. I have served as an election judge for over a decade so I will give you the details to make sure your vote is heard.  You cannot just walk into a voting booth on the day of an election and cast you vote. You have to take some steps to get prepared and we tell you how in this article

*Who Can Vote? You can vote in U.S. elections if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen
• Meet your state’s residency requirements
  • You can be homeless and still meet these requirements. 
• Are 18 years old on or before Election Day
  • In almost every state, you can register to vote before you turn 18 if you will be 18 by Election Day. See a table of voter registration age requirements by state.
• Are registered to vote by your state’s voter registration deadline. North Dakota does not require voter registration.

Who CAN’T Vote?

• Non-citizens, including permanent legal residents
• Some people with felony convictions. Rules vary by state. Check with your state elections office about the laws in your state.
• Some people who are mentally incapacitated. Rules vary by state.
• For President in the general election: U.S. citizens residing in U.S. territories

Check with your state or local election office for any questions about who can and cannot vote.

What Identification Do you Need to Vote?
A total of 36 states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls, 35 of which are in force in 2020. (North Carolina's law has a temporary injunction on it, as of Dec. 31, 2019.) Scroll over the map below for state-by state details.
The remaining 14 states use other methods to verify the identity of voters. Most frequently, other identifying information provided at the polling place, such as a signature, is checked against information on file. See NCSL’s Voter Verification Without ID Documents.
 
You can find a great interactive map with each state's requirements for identification here. If you have any other questions, let us know in the comments and we will try to point you to a good resource.

Now remember - go vote!!

*Source www.usa.gov 
*Source ncsl.org