<p>I just turned 18 in April, and I'm heading off to an out-of-state college this fall, so I'll have to vote absentee for my first major election. I know this seems stupid, but how do I go about this? I'm planning on registering to vote with rockthevote.org after I get my college mailing address, but what do I do after that?</p>
<p>Fortunately, I’m close enough to home that I can go home to vote. But I think to do absentee voting you have to fill out paperwork a few months ahead of time. If you wait too long to register for absentee, you might not be able to vote in time. As for how to actually register for it, I don’t know lol. I’m from a really small town so I would probably just walk into the county courthouse or mayor’s office or the city building and just ask someone. But, most places are probably not as casual as my small town.</p>
<p>I actually found the paperwork yesterday to do the same thing! Each state has their own rules regarding absentee voting. This is the website I used to get going.</p>
<p>[Long</a> Distance Voter - The Absentee Ballot Experts](<a href=“Everything You Need to Vote - Vote.org”>http://www.longdistancevoter.org/)</p>
<p>I clicked on various states and the process seems the same. You want to register to vote, double check that you’re registered later though I’m not quite sure how long it takes for you to be in the system. After that you can download the PDF of your state’s absentee ballot application. Depending on your computer you might be able to fill some of it out before printing.</p>
<p>Once you’re done filling it out, mail the application to your county auditor’s office!</p>
<p>Some states are a little stricter than others about what constitutes a “resident” of their state - and in some instances, a college student is not considered a resident of the state unless you’ve already set up an address more permanent than a dorm address. Check out your own state’s voter registration -or even call your local county’s voter registration office. They will be able to help you - My son won’t even turn 18 until just before the election and our local county office was really helpful sending all the paperwork and letting him know when he needs to mail it in.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help! Can I still register without knowing my dorm (mailing) address?</p>
<p>And I definitely want to register in my home state–it’s a major swing state.</p>
<p>I think you have to register in your home state and county because you’re not a permanent resident where you go to school since you’ll be living in a dorm room.</p>
<p>So I’d register for voting now, since you know all that information, and then finish filling out the absentee voting after you know your dorm mailing address. :)</p>
<p>Your questions have already been answered, but I just wanted to congratulate you on thinking ahead and being proactive about exercising your right to vote! Your campus may well sponsor events like viewing of presidential debates and such, which could be a good way to get informed and meet like-minded people also.</p>
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<p>This depends on whether the state’s ruling political party is one that expects most younger people and college students to vote for its candidates. If it does, then it is likely that you can just register at your college address. If it does not, then expect a lot of hurdles against registering to vote at your college address.</p>
<p>In the latter case, you will be effectively disenfranchised if you do not register for an absentee ballot at your pre-college address. Then again, that makes little sense, since you will be spending most of your time over the next several years at your college address, so you have more of an interest in voting in local and state issues and candidates there than at your pre-college address.</p>
<p>Just pay an ACORN guy to vote for you. Hell, if you have any dead pets they can register them as well.</p>
<p>Yeah because dead pets is the reason BHO kicked azz November 2008. Next time make sure your VP knows what the Fed is, and that “Korea” doesn’t exist. But I digress.</p>
<p>MissManda: I’ve filled out the form, I just need to mail it. Thank you for your help!</p>
<p>stradmom: Thank you very much! I’ve been waiting for this for years hehe.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus: That sounds ridiculous. It’s like another form of gerrymandering. The concept of “home” is pretty confusing for a college student though. I’ll only have lived at my college for 2 months by the election, so I think I’ll feel more tied to my home state, but I don’t know how I’ll feel in a year or two.</p>
<p>ThisMortalSoil: You mean the defunct organization? Seems like you’re trying to make an irrelevant political statement.</p>
<p>This paper is from 2006 discussing the topic. However, state and local laws may have changed since then.
<a href=“https://www.salisbury.edu/pace/publications/reports/dcv7-25-06.pdf[/url]”>https://www.salisbury.edu/pace/publications/reports/dcv7-25-06.pdf</a></p>
<p>Articles from 2008:
[Confusing</a> Voter Registration Laws Could Affect Presidential Election - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/news/campaign-2008/articles/2008/09/24/confusing-voter-registration-laws-could-affect-presidential-election]Confusing”>http://www.usnews.com/news/campaign-2008/articles/2008/09/24/confusing-voter-registration-laws-could-affect-presidential-election)
[Warning</a> for College Student Voters | Inside Higher Ed](<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/09/03/voting]Warning”>http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/09/03/voting)
<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/education/08students.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/education/08students.html</a></p>
<p>And an opinion on the subject from 2011:
<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/opinion/keeping-college-students-from-the-polls.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/opinion/keeping-college-students-from-the-polls.html</a></p>