In the 2018 Midterm Elections, almost half of the eligible voting population did not vote. 26.9% of those individuals claimed they were too busy. With the 2022 Midterm Elections coming up on November 8th, it's crucial to be educated and ready to vote! There are a couple of ways to vote and participate in the opportunities for Oklahoma State students.
Register To Vote
There are multiple ways to get involved in your community, and voting is one of them. There are multiple ways to register to vote depending on what state you currently live in. VOTE.gov offers a simple way to register, and it all starts with choosing your state or territory.
After selecting your state, important deadlines and ways to vote are shown. For example, in Oklahoma, a person cannot fully register to vote online. They can print the registration form and fill it out by hand before sending it to their county election board or they can fill it out online and print it out before sending it.
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission offers a National Mail Voter Registration Form as another method to register to vote. It can be used by any U.S. citizen except those in North Dakota, Wyoming, U.S. territories or uniformed service members and overseas voters. Find your state and follow the directors before returning it to your state or location election office. It's also available in 21 languages.
The Federal Voting Assistance program has a Federal Post Card Application for individuals who are military members, military family members, or any other overseas citizens.
USA.gov has a helpful video explaining voting requirements and state specific rules for new voters.
Absentee Voting
Already registered but can't vote on Election Day? Every state has absentee voting available, but the rules regarding it vary. The National Association of Secretaries of State has a simple way to check if you are eligible for absentee voting. After choosing your state, the site will take you to the state's absentee voting regulations.
In Oklahoma, the deadline to request an absentee ballot is 5:00 pm, the third Monday prior to an election. The state doesn't require a reason for an absentee ballot to be requested. Absentee ballots in Oklahoma require an absentee ballot to be notarized.
Early Voting
Can't make it to the polls on Election Day? Other than absentee voting, some states offer early voting opportunities. The states that do not offer early in-person voting are Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi, and New Hampshire; they might offer options, though, for eligible absentee voters. States do have different names to refer to early in-person voting, though.
National Voting Registration Day
Starting in 2012, National Voter Registration Day has been celebrated as a nonpartisan civic holiday. It has been endorsed by the National Association of Secretaries of State, the National Association of State Election Directors, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and the National Association of Election Officials. Since its start, almost 4.7 million voters have registered to vote on this holiday. Each September 20th, volunteers and organizations across the nation will work to create awareness and register voters. They work with communication, field organizing, and they even have a podcast!
OKSTATE Students
OSU students have the ability to register to vote and change their address to Stillwater, Oklahoma. This will allow for them to vote in Payne County instead of back home! To change your voting address, check out USA.gov. It offers a link to get information on your state and, it will tell you how to change your address depending on where you are from. If you have an absentee ballot that you need to have notarized, visit 211 Student Union to see a notary. Government Documents on the 5th floor of the Edmon Low Library has voter registration forms available and a voter board with more information.
Other Resources
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Eager to know more? Start here.
Government Information Online is produced by the staff at the Oklahoma State University Libraries Government Documents Department, a regional depository for U.S. Government and Oklahoma state government documents. We are located on the 5th floor of the Edmon Low Library. Our department website can be reached at www.info.library.okstate.edu/government-documents. For more information or for research assistance, contact us at 405.744.6546. or email suzanne.reinman@okstate.edu.
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