Your Vote Matters Even If You’re From Out of State

Your Vote Matters Even If You’re From Out of State

Whether it’s Trump, Hillary, or Gary Johnson we’ve all got a pretty big decision coming up in November. For many of you this will be just like any other election but those of you who come from out of state may see this as much more of a daunting task.

Not being an Oklahoma native I can say that I was pretty disheartened to find that I could not just go down to the nearest polling place to cast my vote freshman year. I just accepted this as fact and inquired no further.

But there is another way. You can vote even if you aren’t from Oklahoma. It is called an absentee ballot and it is easier to acquire than you might think. So if you are a politically inclined individual and want your voice to be heard this November, don’t hesitate to get out there and let your choice be known.

To begin, you must be registered in your state of legal residence before filing for out of state voting. This does not apply to those of you who are changing your permanent state of residence. In that case you will need to re-register with that state.

Out of state voting can be started with a simple Google search. There are many different websites with which you can use to get your absentee ballot, for the purposes of this article I will be using www.vote.org/absentee-ballot/. Just go to this website, click on “Get your absentee ballot”, and fill out the form.

Once completed, the website will provide you with a link to download the form. Then just print, fill it out, and send it to your state of residence. Once you have the form you can fill it out at your leisure, though two people (or a notary) should be present to confirm that you are the person that marked your ballot. Send the ballot back to the polling place and, you’re done.

It should also be noted that Absentee voting is not just for out of state voters. This option is open to all. So whether you’re in state, out of state, or just don’t want to go outside the absentee ballot could be for you.

[author image=”http://echo.snu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_2346.jpg” ]
Noah McKinney, Video Story Editor
Noah is 20 and a first year junior at SNU. He is studying mass communication. He enjoys rock climbing, kayaking, gaming, classic games, and history. He has two middle names but won’t tell you what they are.[/author]