Public Service Announcement

by hilzoy

It occurred to me today that voter registration deadlines are going to start coming up soon, and that that being the case, it might be a good idea for someone to post them. And since I am the change I've been waiting for, I thought: why not me? After all, some of my readers might inexplicably have failed to register to vote, and others might feel like going out and doing voter registration but not have gotten around to it yet. So, below the fold, I have posted the deadlines for all the states and DC. I put links to the actual calendars; do check them, since while I did try to be careful, I'd hate for some typo of mine to disenfranchise anyone.

The Obama and McCain campaigns can probably set you up to do voter registration. On the Obama site, if you don't want to do it in your area, click here, then click the state you're interested in, and you will be able to find its various campaign offices. (Useful for people like me, who live in safe states and within driving distance of swing states.)

[UPDATE: On closer inspection, it's only really easy to find your local office in some states. All have lots of info on events, etc., but not all have the useful 'Find your local office' button on the right, under 'Take Action'. The ones with the useful button seem to be swing states, as one would expect. END UPDATE.]

Voter Registration Deadlines

The election is Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Alabama: "Voter registration is closed for the ten (10) days before an election." By my count, that means that the deadline is Oct. 25.

Alaska: Oct. 5

Arizona: Oct. 6 at midnight

Arkansas: Oct. 6

California: October 20 2008

Colorado (pdf): Oct. 6

Connecticut: "up to the 7th day before the election." By my count, this is Tues., Oct. 28.

Delaware: Oct. 11

Florida: Oct. 6

Georgia: October 6

Hawaii: Oct. 6

Idaho: Oct. 10, but election day registration is also available.

Illinois (pdf): Oct. 7, though something called "Grace Period Registration" is also possible Oct. 8 - 21. Grace Period Registration is described here (also pdf).

Indiana: Oct. 6

Iowa: 10 days before the election. By my count, this is Oct. 25. Election day registration also available.

Kansas: 15th day before the election. By my count, this is Oct. 20.

Kentucky: Oct. 6

Louisiana (pdf): Oct. 6

Maine: deadline to register by mail is Oct. 14. No deadline to register in person. Call to see whether you can turn in forms other people have completed in person after Oct. 14.

Maryland (pdf): Oct. 14

Massachusetts: 20 days before the election. By my count, this is Oct. 15.

Michigan (pdf): Oct. 6

Minnesota: Oct. 14. Election day registration available.

Mississippi: 30 days before election. By my count, this is Oct. 5.

Missouri: Fourth Wednesday prior to the election. By my count, this is Oct. 8.

Montana: Oct. 6. Late registration (must be done in county election office) available through close of polls.

Nebraska (pdf): Oct. 17. Registration in person available through Oct. 24.

Nevada: Oct. 4 to register by mail; Oct. 14 to register in person.

New Hampshire: Oct. 25. Election day voting available.

New Jersey: 21 days prior to election. By my count, this is Oct. 14.

New Mexico: 28 days prior to election. By my count, this is Oct. 7.

New York: Oct. 10

North Carolina: 25 days before the election. By my count, this is Oct. 10. In person registration and voting available 19-3 days before election.

North Dakota: does not have voter registration.

Ohio (pdf): Oct. 6

Oklahoma: Oct. 10

Oregon: Oct. 14

Pennsylvania: Oct. 6

Rhode Island: 30 days before election. By my count, this is Oct. 5.

South Carolina (pdf): Oct. 4

South Dakota: Oct. 20

Tennessee (pdf): Oct. 6

Texas: Oct. 6

Utah: 30 days before the election (by my count, Oct. 5); in person registration available through Oct. 20.

Vermont: Oct. 29

Virginia: 29 days before election. By my count, this is Oct. 6.

Washington: Oct. 4 for online and mail-in registration; voters not currently registered in Washington State can register in person through Oct. 20.

Washington DC: Oct. 6

West Virginia: Oct. 14

Wisconsin: by mail, Oct. 15; in person, through Nov. 3; election day registration available.

Wyoming (pdf): Oct. 6

Comments

[hilzoy]

It's really interesting to compare the number of offices in different states. Here's Obama's states page, and here's McCain's. Check out, for instance, their respective offices in PA: Obama (57), McCain (17).

Warning: if you click on a state on the McCain map, you will be taken to that state's page, where a video will start playing, saying: "It was a time of uncertainty, hope, and change: the summer of love. Halfway around the world, another kind of love. Of country..." It gets old after the fourth or fifth state.

[Gary Farber]

"...where a video will start playing, saying: "It was a time of uncertainty, hope, and change...."

It needed Don LaFontaine.

[hilzoy]

Wow: MO: Obama, 40 offices; McCain, 9. (And he seems to be counting GOP party HQs.)

CO: Obama 21, McCain 10.

Interesting. This must be that "ground game" I have heard of.

[hilzoy]

NM: Obama 29, McCain 5.

[KCinDC]

Virginia: Obama 36, McCain 9.

[wonkie]

It is really reallyimportant to get people registered because a massive purging of voter rolls is under way in many states. Colorado has purge a fifth of its voters, for example. In Floridea the purging is targeting African American voters. In some staes the purging is related to people losing their homes due to foreclosure. There is a diary about this on Kos which I think is probably over blown, but still the basic problem exists that many people think they are registered but might not be.

This is a little frustrating to me since I live in a blue state. I mean it doesn't matter much if I register voters here or not.

[hilzoy]

Georgia: Obama 39, McCain 0.

[Gary Farber]

Trivial note: you might want to consider numbering these. :-) (That's not counting the">http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/+"Public+Service+Announcement"">the other folks at ObWi who have used the same post title.)

"Georgia: Obama 39, McCain 0."

I also just read somewhere that the Obama campaign was cutting back money on Georgia after the latest polls; Georgia is somewhere where McCain leads, after all. (I have no way of knowing if that's accurate, or not, of course.)

I'm sort of curious as to what's remarkable about Colorado; since I've been getting bulletins from a variety of Democratic and Obama Colorado lists, I'm over-familiar with the situation, to be point of being blind as to... I guess you haven't followed the offices as they've been opened, and that Colorado does, after all, have a Democratic Governor, both state houses, a Senator, is about to have another Senator, and so on.

Note 2006 voter registration trends.

March 2008 figures.

Democrats--893,472
Unaffiliateds--1,008,675
Republicans--1,015,993

Since February 2008:

Democrats +7,849
Unaffiliteds +5,672
Republicans +2,527

[Gary Farber]

Trivial note: you might want to consider numbering these. :-) (That's not counting the">http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/+"Public+Service+Announcement"">the other folks at ObWi who have used the same post title.)

"Georgia: Obama 39, McCain 0."

I also just read somewhere that the Obama campaign was cutting back money on Georgia after the latest polls; Georgia is somewhere where McCain leads, after all. (I have no way of knowing if that's accurate, or not, of course.)

I'm sort of curious as to what's remarkable about Colorado; since I've been getting bulletins from a variety of Democratic and Obama Colorado lists, I'm over-familiar with the situation, to be point of being blind as to... I guess you haven't followed the offices as they've been opened, and that Colorado does, after all, have a Democratic Governor, both state houses, a Senator, is about to have another Senator, and so on.

Note 2006 voter registration trends.

March 2008 figures [link removed to dodge spam filter].

Democrats--893,472
Unaffiliateds--1,008,675
Republicans--1,015,993

Since February 2008:

Democrats +7,849
Unaffiliteds +5,672
Republicans +2,527

[Gary Farber]

I have a comment caught in the s p a m filter.

[AndyK]

Gary, you almost made me burst into tears.

[AndyK]

>>"...where a video will start playing, saying: "It was a time of uncertainty, hope, and change...."

>>It needed Don LaFontaine.

Gary, you almost made me burst into tears.

(And the first time I tried to post this, it too disappeared. What's with that?)

[Laura]

Michigan: Obama 32, McCain 1.

I've seen it said several times that Michigan is the best opportunity for McCain to take a big blue state. But he only has one office there???

[AndyK]

Ooops. I guess my comment UNdisappeared.

[Laura]

This is a fun game for a late Sunday night.

Nevada: Obama 11, McCain 1

[Laura]

Correction, I see there are 9 McCain offices in Nevada listed on a separate page. However, I still see only one in Michigan and no additional page to click to.

[Warren Terra]

"And he seems to be counting GOP party HQs" - I read someplace about fundraising letters going out which say McCain's name and have his image all over, and someplace in the small print say "RNC". McCain has been and will continue to skirt the law as tightly as possible in how much the party can do for him and how closely he can coordinate with them, so he can get all those $70,000 checks. Because he loves campaign finance reform for other people.

[Laura]

OK, obviously time for me to go to bed. There is another page for Michigan, just not obviously labeled as listing offices, and there are 7.

[KathyF]

If you live abroad: Here's a post I wrote with all you need to know about voting from abroad. It includes a link to CanIVote.org which will tell you if you registered (no need to be abroad to use this!). Also there's a pdf file with the deadlines for requesting and sending your ballot--this applies to voting absentee from the US as well.

www.votefromabroad.org

[Tracy]

My husband and I are in the process of registering in Alabama. But I'm having one of those days where I just feel like our Dem votes being cast in a red state is like trying to put out a forest fire with an eyedropper.

I'll still vote, I just wish I could go back to Michigan to do it. My vote might just count for something there. A little off-topic, I know.

[Boltzmann's Elf]

I think you meant to say that New Hampshire has election day registration. Election day voting better be universal.

[Phoebe]

I am on vacation in St. Louis MO right now, and I'm from a safe state, and I'm going to start registering voters tomorrow, and the way I found how to get ahold of Obama people in this state, so I'd be able to start as soon as I got here, is to click on the state, then click on some events - many of them here are voter registration events - and then email the person in charge of that event. I got ahold of one here, picked up registration forms from her today, and will start registering people tomorrow.

These Obama people are very enthusiastic about helping you help them.

[Rachel]

Thanks for posting the deadlines. I'm bookmarking this page, and I'll be sending around an e-mail reminder to my students so they register in time to vote this fall.