How many of you actually vote.

[aephi alum]

Originally posted by DZHBrown
I have a questions about voting real quick - do you have to be registered for a certain amount of time before voting? My brother turns 18 on October 17th next year and wants to vote in the Presidential election.

I think so... if nothing else, you have to have registered far enough in advance of Election Day that your paperwork is processed and your name is on the voter rolls.

You can register to vote before you turn 18 (at least, you can in New York). During my senior year of HS, someone came to each of the social studies classes with voter registration forms. I was still 17, but I was told I could send the form in anyway. I got a letter back that basically said "You're registered to vote, but remember that you can't actually vote until after your 18th birthday."

I believe that if you switch political parties, you can't vote in a primary for your new party for a year. This is to prevent tactics such as a bunch of loyal members of Party X switching over to Party Y just before the primary, then voting for a weak Party Y candidate, so that their Party X candidate has a better shot at winning the office.