Register to Vote

Why Should I Vote? 
The most important thing you can do this (or any) election cycle is vote. Regardless of the amount of money you can donate to Obama/Biden 2012, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, MoveOn, or Priorities USA (if you can afford to, please do!), voting is the only way you can make a difference in November. The money will continue to flow in to the parties, campaigns, and Super PACs, but none of that money will actually vote. If you haven't registered, do so today. If you think you're registered, check again. If you aren't aware of what you'll need to bring with you to the polls on election day, get informed.

Voter ID
Republican state legislatures across the country, most notably in Pennsylvania and Florida, have passed and tried to implement new voter ID laws to suppress votes under the ruse of "voter fraud." Many sources, including the USA Today, have referenced a study by News21 that found there have been 10 cases of voter fraud since 2000. As the USA Today puts it, "with 146 million registered voters in the United States, those represent about one for every 15 million prospective voters." Voter fraud is simply not an issue in this country and voter ID laws are only in place to disenfranchise those in urban areas and major cities who don't have photo identification (like a driver's license) because they are poor, elderly, or haven't needed a driver's license because they don't drive a car. These people are also generally minorities and African Americans, who (surprise!) tend to vote for Democrats. This is not a coincidence - if you live in a state with voter ID laws, check out the map below from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) to determine what type of ID you need to vote on election day.

UPDATE (10/2/2012): Per the NCSL, "A state judge temporarily halted enforcement of Pennsylvania's voter ID law for the November election. The judge stated that an insufficient number of IDs had been issued for voting purposes at the five-week mark preceding the election, and ordered that while poll workers can still ask voters for ID, they must allow those without ID to vote. Read the order here. There will be a status conference on December 13, 2012 to prepare for a trial on the application for a permanent injunction."

Get Informed & Register to Vote
Different states have voter registration deadlines, so be sure to stay informed and get registered! If you haven't registered, want to confirm that you are registered, need absentee ballot or photo ID information, or have any other questions, please visit these sites:

Rock The Vote: http://www.rockthevote.org/

USA.gov: http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Voting/Register.shtml

Gotta Vote (via the Obama Campaign): http://vote.barackobama.com/en/

Vote411: http://www.vote411.org

Photo ID Laws: http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/voter-id.aspx

Source (Map up-to-date as of 10/2/12): National Conference of State Legislatures