As soon as your chosen residential movers here in Salt Lake City, Utah leave you and you’ve moved into your new home, you automatically have a long list of things you must accomplish. These include unpacking your boxes, change your mailing address and work on your new interior design.
However, there’s one important thing many people often forget when they’ve moved to a new address. This is especially true if it’s an entirely different state, and this is to check their voter registration. This should always be among your list of priorities, along with many other significant life changes you have.
Otherwise, you might be surprised to find out you’re not eligible to vote – unless you’ve moved to North Dakota. To avoid any inconvenience when you show up to the polls, here’s what you need to know about updating your voter’s registration:
Know when is the deadline
You may be overwhelmed by all the post-move tasks you have to take care of, but this one shouldn’t be neglected. Check the deadline in your state and see if this is something you have to deal with right away or if you still have a bit of time left to do other things. Voter registration deadlines are different for every state. While some allow same-day registration, others require doing it not later than one month before an election date. If you know if there’s an election coming and you want to continue being a responsible citizen, do this immediately. Even if the election is still months away, work on this as soon as possible so you won’t forget about it later.
See if you’re already a registered voter
If you only made an in-state move, there’s a big chance you’re already registered. You’ll only need to do some minor update on your voter’s info. However, if you’ve moved to a new state, you’ll definitely need to do an entirely new registration. Check all the available information online.
Research about how you can register to vote in your new state
Depending on your new state, you may have a couple or more ways available to you in order to register to vote. These include the following:
- In-person voter registration – Visit your local election office personally. There are some states which also allow you to head to your local DMV to register. Check which one is more convenient for you.
- Mail-in registration – Get a copy of the National Mail Voter Registration Form and fill it out online and print it out. You can also print the form first and fill it out by hand if that’s easier. As there are specific rules for every state, make sure to check those out first before filling in all your information. Once you’ve accomplished the forms, send it by mail to your state or local election office and wait for at least two weeks for processing. If it’s taking longer than expected, you may also call them for confirmation.
- Online registration – This option is available in 37 states, including the District of Columbia. Visit the National Conference of State Legislature’s online voter registration page to see if your new state offers this choice. If yes, check the link on the associated website that directs to your state’s online registration page.
Remember, exercise your right to vote!
