# When do you get your voter's registration card? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2000, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837 "2000-10-13T20:31:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/1 "2000-10-13T20:31:14Z")
I registered for this election a month or two ago. However, I don’t believe I have received my voter’s registration card; should I have recived it by now? I can’t remember when I got the card for the last election (when I lived in another county) relative to registering. Is there any way to to make sure I am registered? I have looked around on the 'net without success (I am supposed to be registered for Cook county, IL). ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/2 "2000-10-13T20:36:34Z")
Mine usually take 4-6 weeks to get to me, but right before an election might take a little longer due to increased volume. As for how to make sure you really are registered, I don’t know other than showing up where you think you are supposed to vote on election day with proper ID and see if you are on the list. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/3 "2000-10-13T20:38:40Z")
Call the Clerk’s office in the jurisdiction that you registered. For example, when I lived in Lansing, in Ingham County, Michigan, my registration was at the city clerk in Lansing. I think you should have gotten it by now, but it may be delayed if there was a glut of folks registering. Vote well, and often. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/4 "2000-10-13T21:38:33Z")
Thank you. I will be royally PO’d if my registration didn’t go through. :mad: It’s possible it got lost in the mail, or I might have accidentally shoved it in my “ignore” pile of mail. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/5 "2000-10-13T21:51:28Z")
Have you moved? Why are you reregistering? Is it a periodic thing in some places? ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/6 "2000-10-13T21:53:03Z")
It’s a little surprising what little standards there are at most voting locations. And it’s sometimes hard to convince those working them who actually should be voting. When I first was eligible to vote, I filled out the card but lost it on the way to the mailbox. So I filled out another one. Apparently, though, some kind soul had found the first one and sent it in. Would not have been a problem except that one of them was keyed in with my name misspelled. So when I arrived at the polling booth, and showed them my ID Me: “Panama Jack, right there, yes, see, here’s my address.” Vote-Worker (noticing something unusual): “Wait, are you this person or Panama Jerk, right below him here?” Me: “No, it’s just Panama Jack. Panama Jerk, that’s just a misspelling of my name. There is no such person.” VW: “What do you mean, no such person?” me: “Well, look, see the address for Panama Jerk is the same as for me, and the name’s almost the same. Only my family lives at mu house. Someone just made a mistake. You can cross the name off the list.” VW: “Are you sure there’s no Panama Jerk?” me: “You believe that I live at this address, don’t you? Don’t you think I’d know who’s living there or not?” VW: “You sure he’s not living at that address?” me: “Yes, I’m sure. Uh … look, it’s evening, kind of late. I just don’t think he’ll be around to vote tonight.” For a second, I contemplated making my vote count twice as much by coming back dressed as Panama Jerk. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/7 "2000-10-13T22:02:42Z")
The ironic thing is that in many areas, you don’t even have to have your voter’s registration card to vote! I’ve voted in, let’s see…(counting, counting)…six different states, and _never_ have I been asked to produce identification. I’ve just stated my name. As long as I was in the book, they would just check me off, get me to say “yup, that’s me” to the address they had on file, and send me into the booth. The one time I wasn’t in the book (I had moved from a neighboring ward), they wrote me in and said they had transfer slips they exchanged between wards for this type of circumstance. Voting took place as usual. Then, next year I was in the correct book again. The good thing about the official card is that it does confirm that you should be in the book. I’m not sure what would happen in the case of a discrepancy in your case. Would they let you vote on the basis of your card; otherwise not? If so, I could see it being important to have it. Of course the other good thing about toting the card around is that it tells you what ward/precinct you are in and where your polling place is. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/8 "2000-10-13T22:11:51Z")
I have only voted once since I moved to California. I never received a voter card and checked the registrar’s web site to see where I should vote. I show up and there is a list of everybody registered for that poll on the wall. EVERYBODY, with ADDRESS and PARTY AFFILIATION. I go to the desk, tell them my name, they ask me my address (apparently to confirm who I was) and gave me a ballot. As I was leaving there was a poll worker at the posted list, **crossing out the names of those who had voted**! I could have just come back in an hour, found a name that hadn’t voted yet, memorized the address from the printout and received another ballot. Additionally, I signed the book in pencil! No wonder voter fraud seems rampant in California. In Washington and Hawaii, security was much higher. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/9 "2000-10-13T22:32:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Have you moved? Yeah, I changed counties. Gotta make sure I’m voting for the dogcatcher and coroner who actually work in my town, ya know, not the one a hundred miles away. 😉 Besides, like divemaster said, it gives you the info about where you go. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/10 "2000-10-13T22:39:21Z")
Oh, come on. You live in Chicagoland. Everyone knows you have to vote both places. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2000, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/11 "2000-10-14T00:47:26Z")
Are you folks registering by mail? I didn’t even know that was possible. I registered down at the county courthouse, and got my card immediately on the spot. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2000, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/12 "2000-10-14T01:32:37Z")
Continuing the minor hijack to sloppy control procedures at polling places… I’m in California, and I have heard from a couple of sources that the folks at the voting booth **are not allowed** to make you prove that you are who you say you are. You cannot be forced to show your voter registration card, or any form of ID. Something about how this is discriminatory and intimidating. (?!?) I don’t know if that’s really true, but my experiences voting haven’t exactly suggested that it’s false. I give them my name and address, and they hand me a ballot. I could be anybody. Maybe I should try getting out early in the morning this November and going to nearby polling places and voting for my friends… 🙂 And, yes, **Chronos** , registration by mail has been possible here for quite some time. I believe that there’s even something called “Motor Voter” by which you can check a box on your Driver License renewal form, and the DMV will contact the registrar and register you to vote. Or did that get canned? I seem to recall some controversy surrounding it. And, before I get some nasty admonition: No, I have no intention of actually voting fraudulently in this or any other election. I’m simply disturbed at how easy it would be. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2000, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/13 "2000-10-14T02:33:06Z")
**brad\_d** , I have heard the same thing about not being allowed to ask for ID at the polls. I do not know how widespread that is. If memory serves, the practice of asking for ID could be seen as a racist act to keep minorities from voting. My opinion is that the government would rather tolerate cases of voter fraud (and every election there seems to be accusations from one place or another, valid or not), than codify anything that would require proof of voting status. I _do_ know that it can be very difficult for states to actively try to compile an updated list. I remember a situation back in my home state of Louisiana where the state wanted to send out address cards to confirm voting residence. I think the idea was to give it three shots, and if the card came back from the Post Office as “undeliverable,” that name was to be dropped from the rolls. I don’t think anyone had to respond; the idea was to make sure cemetery plots and abandoned/non-existent houses weren’t casting votes. The courts threw out the effort as unlawful. ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/14 "2000-10-16T16:07:09Z")
I live in Wisconsin, been resident of three different counties, have never seen one. Do we even have them here? ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/15 "2000-10-16T16:27:45Z")
I’ve always received my new votor registration card about 2 weeks after I move and re-register. But I’ve never been asked to produce it at the polls. The only time I’ve used it was to provide a 2nd form of ID when I crossed the US/Canadian border, to prove that I was a legal resident of the US. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/16 "2000-10-17T12:01:34Z")
> [@](#): > > I believe that there’s even something called “Motor Voter” by which you can check a box on your Driver License renewal form, and the DMV will contact the registrar and register you to vote. Or did that get canned? I seem to recall some controversy surrounding it. If I’m remembering correctly, the controversy was that it was an “unfunded federal mandate,” i.e. - the U.S. Congress passed the law, requiring the states to implement it, but without any federal funding. Some of the states challenged it on federalism grounds - that Congress could not appropriate state funds in that way. Can’t remember how it turned out. ---
**Author:** ![ChuckForbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@ChuckForbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChuckForbin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/17 "2000-10-17T15:09:04Z")
You might want to check out [http://www.voter.com](http://www.voter.com) . They have an incredible amount of detail on all the candidates and issues broken down by state. I didnt check specifically but I’m sure they have info for each state regarding registration. I live in Oregon and we get to vote by mail - ballots come next week. I wonder what would happen if one of the candidates died or withdrew after all of us Oregon folks voted for him. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/18 "2000-10-18T13:50:24Z")
BTW, what do these cards look like? laminated plastic? are they acceptable I.D. for things beside voting? do you get them each election, or do you hang on to them until you move to a new district? does one card work for all elections, or are there different cards for federal elections, state elections, and municipal elections? ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/19 "2000-10-18T14:00:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jti \* > \*\*BTW, what do these cards look like? laminated plastic? are they acceptable I.D. for things beside voting? do you get them each election, or do you hang on to them until you move to a new district? does one card work for all elections, or are there different cards for federal elections, state elections, and municipal elections? \*\* itty bitty piece of cardboard in my district (each prints out their own). We get one to last until either we move or something in the district changes (for example, at one point, the polling location changed and we all got new cards). One card for all elections (you only vote in one location for all elections). Hope that helps. ---
**Author:** ![TampaFlyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@TampaFlyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TampaFlyer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2000, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837/20 "2000-10-18T21:32:55Z")
\> If memory serves, the practice of asking for ID could be seen as a racist act to keep minorities from voting. How is that racist? Do people of some ethnic groups not use IDs? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-get-your-voters-registration-card/36837.md?page=2)