Filling Out a Voter Registration Form

Adam Fogel: Hi, I am Adam Fogel, the Right to Vote Director at FairVote, a national non-partisan, non-profit organization based in Washington DC.

Today, I am showing you how to register and vote in US elections. Now, I will show you how to fill out a national voter registration form which you can find at the election assistant commissions website under the Voter Information Center link on their homepage. Their website is <a>www.eac.gov</a>.

First, be sure to check the top two boxes. It asks if you are a US citizen, and will be 18 on or before the next election. If you answer no to either of these questions, dont fill out the rest of the form. It means you are not eligible to register to vote for federal elections.

Next, write your name and the address for your registering to vote. If you get your mail at a different address, write that address in box three. If you are filling out the form because you have moved, you need to change your address, write your new address in box B. If you have changed your name, and need to reregister to vote, write your new name in box one, and your former name in box A.

Next, fill in your date of birth. When writing your phone number in box five, its optional, but its a good idea in case the election office needs to contact you for any reason. For box six, where you write your ID number, this changes from state to state. Most states allow you to write your drivers license number or the last four digits of your social security number. Other states make you write your entire social security number. Check your states voting instructions before completing box six.

In box seven, you can join a political party. Choose from democratic, republican, libertarian, green, just name of few. If you are not sure which party you want to join, you can write no affiliation or independent. You can always change your party affiliation later using the same form, but keep in mind if you don't choose a party, in most states, you wont be able to vote in party primary elections.

Finally, remember to sign the bottom of the form, and write today's date, in box number nine. The elections office can't process your form without your signature.

Now, all you have to do is stick the form in an envelope with proper postage, and mail it to your local Board of Elections. That's how you fill out the national voter registration application.

Next, we are going to talk about voting with absentee ballots in elections, where to find one and where to send it in.