It’s June 7, the NJ primaries. You have carefully thought about who to support, brought your identification, and came to the booth. Ah, but you are turned away because you forgot to register to vote.
What a fantastic scenario, right? Waiting in line for so long only to be turned away for something as stupid as registration. Luckily, the deadline to register to vote for the primaries is 21 days before the date of the primaries themselves. That means that the deadline is on May 17, and there is hypothetical scenario outlined above has yet to happen. You can vote!
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Is it that important to vote?
Yes. First of all, democracy only works if the people support it. If even the people, that the system should (theoretically) benefit don’t bother, then the people have no right to complain should the system become corrupted.
Furthermore, the NJ primaries actually matter- at least for the Democrats, since the Republican nominee is settled. Many states try to frontload their primaries or hold them as early as possible because earlier primaries mean that those states have more power over who the presidential nominee would be. Unfortunately, that often means that states that do not frontload hold little say over the nominee. New Jersey historically has late primaries.
This time around, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are rather far in terms of pledged delegates, Hillary leading by over 300. Yet, the difference is not impossible to overcome, and while Hillary holds a clear advantage Bernie may claim enough votes that the nomination is contested. Superdelegate votes do not count until the convention, and through the history of the United States superdelegates have not supported a candidate that the people did not approve. Therefore, whether you support Hillary or Bernie, your vote can make a difference. NJ primaries are closed to party members only, but you can change or name your party affiliation the day of the primary.
Let’s say you don’t care about the presidential election. (Though I really don’t see why, since it’s just--oh, I don’t know, the future of our country?) Then think a bit more locally. Local elections mean less people, and thus, each person has proportionally more importance. Still don’t care about the officials? What about something that hits closer to home, like referendums? Referendums are when the electorates have the ability to make the decision instead of leaving all the decisions to the elected officials. My town's local library was established this way back in 1925.
Q.E.D., voting is important. Alright, so who can actually register to vote? Surprisingly, you’ll find that the answer to this is slightly different than who can vote. The 26th amendment says “The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.” But according to NJ R.S. 19:31-5, you can register to vote when you are 17 as long as you turn 18 before the next election. Unfortunately, NJ law does not allow 17-year-olds to vote in primaries like some other states do, but at least if you register now you’ll do so with ample time for the general election. So you can register if you are a US citizen, 17 or older, a county resident for 30 days before an election, and not in the middle of serving a sentence, probation or parole because of a felony conviction. (If you were registered before your sentence and now you’re out, you have to register again, by the way.)
Registration itself is simple. Go to this website and find your county. All of the NJ counties have both the English and Spanish versions of voter registration forms, and Bergen County goes above and beyond by also adding it in Korean. Fill out the information, print and sign. Then you mail it off--you don’t even need postage as long as you are in the United States. The county office will send you a letter of confirmation or a letter that tells you how to fix your application. A final reminder: the last day to register in time for the NJ primaries is May 17.
