You Made It

By Scott Manthey
Should I really vote? Will I make any difference? Who is listening? How will voting help me?
I am not here to tell you to vote for him or vote for her, vote democrats or vote republican. My interest is that you vote. Get off your lazy high horse and 1) Register, 2) Sign up as an absentee or Show up and vote.
It is your own choice to get educated on topics, but what is the most important is that you vote. Get your vote counted! If nothing else let it be known that you have a voice. If you feel as if your issues are not related to politics, it is because you do not vote!! The more of any group votes, Politicians will listen to that group’s issues.
If you want to make a difference, get your community to vote on anything. Make your voices heard. America truly is the land of the people. The only people who are heard, vote. Politicians listen to the voters, not anyone else. Help us change the future by registering and voting today.
If you want to change the future, go out and infect as many people with the desire to vote. It is not about politics, it is about our future! Tell everyone, wake the neighbors, get a gang of voters together and start to Change The Future 2008.
The need for this website was indicted by an Institute of Politics national survey of college students in the fall of 2003, which showed 39% of college students who said they would vote in upcoming elections would vote absentee, and 10% weren’t sure if they would vote at the polls or by absentee ballot. Over 1/3 of those who wanted to vote absentee said that they did not know, or were unaware of how to vote by absentee ballot.

In 2002 several changes to the rules of voting were made by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). One huge change made by HAVA is the required identification for first-time voters, which means most college students!

The first time you register or when you actually vote (in person or by mail) you must bring i.d. showing your name and the address at which you are registered.

The easiest i.d. is your driver’s license or identification card. But, if you do not have i.d. or the address on your i.d. does NOT match your voting address (say you registered at your school, but didn’t change your license), you can use identification with your name and—a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, etc. with your current address.

In some states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia), there may be additional state requirements or additional forms of identification. Please refer to your Secretary of State or local town/city clerk for additional requirements.

Voting In Person (at the polls)
Don’t Forget To Bring:
• a current and valid photo identification; or
• a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document showing the name and address of the voter.

Voting by Mail (Absentee Voting)
Don’t Forget To Send:
• a copy of a current and valid photo identification; or
• a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document showing the name and address of the voter.