Register To Vote
Make yourself heard.

-- Flaura Winston

-- Charles Smolover

The upcoming general election can change the course of our country. We can start balancing the federal budget, improving access to healthcare, protecting the environment, supporting the Jewish state and Jewish causes, and fighting global terror more effectively.

Many of our readers have asked us to provide information to help them exercise their right to vote. For many undergraduates, this will be their first election. 

The November issue of the Philadelphia Jewish Voice (expected Monday, October 23) will continue our special coverage of "Decision 5767" including a voters guide on issues of concern to us. We hope you look out for it and share it with your friends, but if your or your child is not registered, he or she can not vote.

The following information is specific to Pennsylvania voters, since 84% of our readers live in the Commonwealth. If you live in a different state, contact us or your Bureau of Elections for more information. If you are American and live abroad, you can still register to vote.

Important Election Dates to Remember

Last Day to Register to Vote in the Nov. Election: October 10, 2006
Form must be at the Division of Elections by 5:00PM. 
Anyone who will be 18 years of age on or before November 7 can register to vote.
If you have registered for the first time this year or re-registered after moving, you should receive a voter registration card from your county Voter Services office. If you have not received your card we strongly suggest that you call your county Voter Services office to confirm that they received and processed your registration.

Last Day to Apply for an Absentee Ballot: Tuesday, October 31, 2006
If you might be unable to get to the polls on November 7, due to illness, disability, occupation, military service or for other reasons, you can apply for an Absentee Ballot. This includes college students who are registered to vote in their home district, but will be away at school on November 7. Absentee ballot applications must be received by the county by October 31; however, we encourage you to submit your application by October 15 to ensure that your vote will be counted.

Absentee Ballots Due: Friday, November 3, 2006 
Form is due by 5:00PM at the Division of Elections office.
Absentee ballots received after November 3 may still be eligible to be counted for Federal elections but not for State and Local elections.

General Election Day: Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Get out and vote. The polls in Pennsylvania will be open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. 
Political parties and other nonprofit groups often provide transportation to those in need.

If you need a voter registration form or absentee ballot application, contact us.

Identification Requirements: If you are voting at your polling place for the first time, you must present your voter ID card or a form of photo identification such as a driver's license, student ID, passport, or other government issued ID. Other acceptable forms of identification include a current utility bill, bank statement or paycheck. If you do not have an acceptable form of ID you
will still be allowed to vote by provisional ballot.

Provisional Ballots: If your name isn't on the list of registered voters at your polling place, if you don't have required ID, or if for some other reason your voter registration is in question, you still have the right to vote by provisional ballot. These provisional ballots will reviewed after the polls close and, if it is determined that you were eligible to vote, your ballot will be counted. If you aren't offered the right to vote by provisional ballot, just ask.

Four things that you can do: 

1. Make sure that your children and your friends are registered to vote. Talk about this while they are home for the holidays. Deadline: October 10
   For more information and application, please go to: 

2. If you or your children will not be home to vote, you need to apply for and submit an absentee ballot.

3. Consider keeping a voter registration form handy. Talking about politics in line while in the checkout line at the supermarket once our cashier indicated that he wanted to vote, but did not know how. Having a form handy allows you to seize the opportunity to promote democracy.

4. Talk to your children and friends about the issues that matter to you and how the candidates stand on them.