With many of us being in college, as well as some of us being from out of state, voting or knowing if you can even vote can be a little daunting especially if you left your home state to attend college in a different state. Whether you’re from New Mexico, but go to school in Texas, voting in your home state is really important in order for your voice to be heard. It’s essential as a young voter who may be out of state to make the conscious decision to still register to vote and utilize the absentee voting system.
Voting by Mail or by an Absentee ballot is an option that is available to you for a number of different reasons, but no reason is required. The process is literally as easy as 1, 2, 3.
Step 1:
Requesting your absentee ballot.
All states are required to offer an absentee ballot option, however, the procedure differs from state to state. You can look up your particular state laws and regulations, here.
The process is similar no matter where you are registered to vote, but for this blog, let’s use our neighboring state New Mexico as an example.
New Mexico offers a “no-excuse” absentee ballot request, which means that you do not need to give a particular reason as to why you are requesting an absentee ballot, but some of those reasons could be a disability that makes attending the polls difficult, living in a different state while still maintaining residence in the one you are voting in, or something as simple as the inability to make it to the polls during early voting and voting days.
There is also something called “permanent absentee voting”, which means that the state will continue to send you an absentee ballot every election, opposed to you having to request one during each election season (New Mexico is not one of these states).
In order to request an absentee ballot, you have to visit your state’s Voter Information site, or you can also get your absentee ballot through vote.org. After filling out your personal information and voter registration information, if you have any questions about whether or not you are registered to vote, you can refer back to our blog post from last week on how to find that information, here.
Another option is to contact your County Clerk via email or phone. If that option also doesn’t work, you may also download the application online, print and fill it out, then mail it to your County Clerk’s office.
Step 2:
Once you receive your absentee ballot, be sure to take the time to really understand who and what you are voting for. That process may involve research on what will be on the ballot and creating a list for yourself on what or who you want to vote for. Take the time to really understand what it is that you are voting for. Your voice counts, make sure you feel confident and ready to use it at the polls!
Step 3:
Mail your absentee ballot for in BEFORE the deadline. Often the deadline is 5 p.m. on election day in order for your vote to be counted in that election.
So, voting using an absentee ballot is that easy!
If you are a college student studying abroad or if you will be out of the country during early voting and election day, you have the same opportunity to vote using an absentee ballot.
If you are in college and recently moved to a different state but are registered to vote in your home state, you have the option to vote using an absentee ballot as well.
Also, if you attend college out of state and would like to change your address to your current one, you have the option to change your voter registration to wherever you go to school, using either your home address or using your college university’s address.
No matter what method you choose to help you vote, whether it’s in your home state, or in the state you moved to, check your voter registration and make the conscious effort to vote in your local, state, and national elections.
-R.W.
Edited by C.A.