Update: This OTYCD post originally appeared on July 2, 2018. We have deliberately cleared the queue of new posts to leave this repost up until October 6, 2018, when the earliest state voter registration deadlines for 2018 begin to pass. Please click on the above link titled Important Announcement from OTYCD’s Sarah Jane to learn why timely posts have ceased.

 

See Vote.org’s list of voter registration deadlines for all 50 states.

 

Loyal OTYCD readers know the importance of recruiting as many friends and family members as possible to come out and vote in the 2018 midterms, which happen on Tuesday, November 6. If we’re going to fix what’s broken, it can’t just be you going to the polls.

 

You’re also probably alarmed by the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in favor of allowing Ohio to purge its rolls of voters who haven’t cast a ballot in a few cycles and do not respond to an inquiry from election officials.

 

The ruling sucks. Let’s not sugar-coat it. States now have permission to delist registered voters who haven’t cast a ballot recently. Ohio was evidently sending out a ‘hey are you out there’ notice after one “missed” election cycle, which makes their purging efforts exceptionally aggressive.

 

If you believe that voting is a right, not a privilege, the SCOTUS decision is a slap in the face of democracy. It lets states act as if voting is a “use it or lose it” kind of thing. It isn’t, and it shouldn’t be.

 

Anyway! The way to fight back is to step up and do the work on behalf of your friends and family. You need to help them check and confirm that they’re registered to vote, and help them register if they’re not. You need to make this task as easy for them as possible.

 

So, it’d help to know when it’s too late to register to vote in the home states of your friends and family, would it not?

 

Fortunately, the folks at Vote.org are on the case. They’ve cataloged and listed the voter registration deadlines for all 50 states.

 

And good news–the furthest-out deadline appears to be 31 days before Election Day, and that’s only in one state, and only if you’re mailing your ballot. Most states’ voter registration deadlines fall within the 30 days before E-Day, and some allow voters to register on the day itself.

 

So! You still have months to help friends and family register to vote, and you still have time to follow up on and re-register if the first attempt failed somehow.

 

 

See Vote.org’s webpage on voter registration deadlines across America:

https://www.vote.org/voter-registration-deadlines/

 

 

Also see our post on making sure you’re registered to vote, which contains a link you can use to help friends and family check their registration status:

https://onethingyoucando.com/2017/12/16/check-this-site-and-make-sure-youre-registered-to-vote/

 

 

You have many options for supporting the good work of Vote.org.

 

 

See their website:

https://www.vote.org

 

 

Donate to Vote.org:

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/votedotorg2018?refcode=website-top-nav

 

 

Shop Vote.org merch:

https://shop.vote.org

 

 

Like them on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/votedotorg

 

 

Follow Vote.org on Twitter:

@votedotorg

 

 

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