Voter Registration Info:
How can I register to vote?
By Mail: The Massachusetts Mail-In Voter Registration Form can be used to register to vote in Massachusetts, to update registration information due to a change of name, make a change of address, or to register with a political party. Note: After filling out this form, you must print it, sign it and send it to your local election official.Download the Forms:
- Massachusetts Mail-in Voter Registration form (PDF) – English
- Formulario de inscripción de votante por correo oficial de Massachusetts (PDF) – Spanish
- 麻州官方 選民郵寄登記表 (PDF) – Chinese
You can also request a form be mailed to you by going to: Online Voter Registration Form Request or by calling 617-727-2828 or 1-800-462-VOTE.
In Person: Go to any registration location and complete an affidavit of registration, which must be answered truthfully under the penalty of perjury. The questions on the affidavit will include your name, residence and date of birth.
At the Registry of Motor Vehicles: Keep your motor voter receipt until you receive confirmation from your local election official. If you do not receive any confirmation, please contact your local election office to verify your voting status.
Mail the completed form to your local city or town hall. You should receive a confirmation notice in 2 to 3 weeks. If you do not receive a confirmation notice, or wish to confirm your voter registration status, please contact your local City or Town Clerk to verify your voting status.
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For real, that's how you register to vote in 2012. So there I am Wednesday minding my business, when I'm suddenly reminded it's my last chance to register to vote (or in my case to switch my address). Fuck. I now have two options...First: Just go vote at my old address, it's not like you have to show valid ID and it's usually a bunch of white hairs checking off names, I'm sure I can get away with it. Or Second, I could go through with any of the above AWFUL steps.
Look at those options...By Mail. You've got to be kidding me.
In Person- No thanks. Government buildings are filled with the WORST kind of people. Criminals, conspiracy theorists, people complaining about noise ordinances on their neighbors, just general pain in the ass people that I have no intention of standing next to, even if it is just to register to vote. You know who stands in line to register to vote now-a-days? Old people with all the time in the world before they have to get to the early bird dinner special at 5:30, and presumable nutbags who are afraid of the mail because they don't want the government tracking what they're doing.
And Finally, at the Registry of Motor Vehicles - The registry of motor vehicles makes waiting in town hall seem like a vacation. Every where you look you've got convicted felons just trying to get their license back, and other soon to be convicted felons just checking if they have any warrants out on them. It's bad enough running down there for something license related, you're outside your mind if I'm going to go down there and tell them I'm here to register to vote.
So I went with mailing it in. And here I am, apparently waiting 2-3 weeks for confirmation...Which is absurd. I printed the form offline, only to fill it out with pen, run around all day looking for a stamp because people my age don't use stamps, answering questions about why on earth I'd need a stamp, and finally mailing it in at a post office box, but checking that the mail actually went down, like 4 times, because for some reason out of all the life lessons learned as a child, needing to check that the mail went down struck the most fear in me. Looking both ways before I cross the street, running in the parking lot, don't touch that it's hot, all those pale in comparison to checking to make sure my mail went down into the mail box. I check that thing a minimum of 3-4 times, just in case it went down the first time and was being all sneaky and jumped back to the top when it thought I was gone. That's not going to happen, not on my watch. And all that could have been avoided if that original form I printed from online, was an actual form I could just fill out and hit send. It's that simple.
So there you go. Looking for a reason why young people consistently have the lowest voter turn out? Look no further than the options for registering. I guarantee if you could register online, or via twitter, you'd see historic turnout. And don't come back to me about fraud and security...A tweet is just as safe as some old lady checking names off a registration roll that she can barely read without anyone having to prove any identification.
