For the first time in my entire adult life, I cannot vote.
It’s not because I have a statement to make about our current electoral system or that I have a problem with voting. I just didn’t get my voter registration changed soon enough. 🙁
Back in August, my husband and I moved from Minnesota to Oregon. We never paid any attention to changing our voting registration because, first off, it was August. Secondly, having lived in MN my entire adult life it wasn’t something I hadn’t worried about.
Why?
Because Minnesota has same-day voter registration. As long as you can show proof of residency the day of the election – you can vote. Usually you can show a recent utility bill that’s in your name (and that has your current place of residence) with your drivers license and that’s enough.
You can also change your voter registration when you renew or update your drivers license. However, it’s that same-day registration that I’ve know my entire life.
We got a voter information packet in the mail here in our new home and we thought “wow, that’s so thoughtful. A booklet that explains all the different measures, who’s running for office, and everything!”
We missed one tiny detail.
Voter registration deadline: 21 days before the election
By the time we thought about that mere detail, it was 19 days before the election.
Thus, for the first time in my adult life, I could not vote in an election. I couldn’t vote in Minnesota because the primary way to vote is to go to your precinct. Secondly, it was too late to get an absentee ballot – and besides, voting where you no longer live seems a bit disingenuous and wrong.
It makes me sad that my voice could not be heard this election season, especially since there were so many ballot initiatives and candidates that I felt strongly about supporting.
Never again.