I think I blew it. I've only voted once before and I registered when I was going to school in San Francisco. Didn't know I had to re-register when I moved from the county. But if I can still vote in San Francisco I might make a road trip.
GIMME YOUR OPINION:
Is it worth it to drive 2-3 hours to vote in a state that will PROBABLY go to Obama anyway?
in some states you can show up at your local polling place with your drivers liscense and vote EVEN If you are not registered, they still have to take your ballot and then, after the fact, they will figure out if you are eligible or not. i'd look into seeing if you can do this in california. and in CA, it's especially important to vote so we can strike down Prop 8!
I am from CA (now living in OR) and, if I remember right, you are assigned a polling place based on your address. If, for some reason you can not make it to your polling place on election day, you have to send in an absentee ballot. Or you can go to another polling place with an ID and cast a "provisional ballot" which is not counted until your eligibility can be proved. If you show up without an ID, you are given a "provisional ballot" as well. So, lets say you show up and say that you are registered even though you do not show up on the roll, you can vote but, once they do a check for your eligibility and find out you didn't register, the vote is thrown out.
Here in Oregon, we vote by mail and only by mail. We have no polling places, only these mail box type of things that you can drop your ballot into if you don't trust the USPS. I must say that I do like the convenience but I also miss the overwhelming feeling of knowing that I am being a good citizen by going in that voting booth. Sounds a bit corny, I know, but it is true.
I actually cast my vote two weeks ago. But then again no one knows if I filled in the ballot myself or let my dog do it for me.
And yes, 8 has to go. THE reason to vote in CA this year really. Thanks for bringing that up, gedgengras.
