Practicum 3: Bernard (Vote)

The steps to voting in Alaska is quite a simple process, basically just as you would for any governmental process in applications or any other document you find you need in life like an ID and such. There are a few ways a person can register to vote. One is online called the State of Alaska’s Online Voter Registration System. First you fill out a online application where you fill out the required fields. When filling out this form, the information you provide is supposed to reflect the information on a persons Devision of Motor Vehicles (DMV) record. During this registration process you must have an Alaska Driver’s Licence or ID. If you don’t have these you can register to vote via paper registration. As a warning they put up, “if you provide false information on this application you can be convicted of a misdemeanor.”

The paper application requires a bunch of information, but mostly the general information you would give when applying to renew or get a licence or ID. You are required to put name (current and previous if you have one), citizen status, age, birthdate, SSN or state ID #, mailing address, place of claimed residency, phone number(s), gender (limited to male and female), and political affiliation. You are required to provide, place of residency or claimed residency, proof of identity (SSN, License or state ID, and Birth certificate), and date of birth.

If you wish to do this in person, you must provide the information listed above but do an in person registration.

Once the application is finished and the necessary information is given. The application is looked over and determined to be approved or denied. If approved there will be a voter registration card send to your address. This process can take up to 4 weeks.

I think the process is a pretty easy process. Especially because what they ask for is usually what you give in other DMV or state processes. A person usually knows and has all the necessary information. This was was surprisingly easy as I would expect this process to take forever to complete. However knowing that there are alternatives to registering like doing this online is pretty interesting. Online only requires a state id or drivers license. All people can register before an election at least 30 days before the election. Although mentioning that there are ways to register, what surprised me was that the DMV was also able to help register to vote when someone is applying for a license or ID. I think 18-30 year olds are less likely to register to vote or vote in general because they don’t have the habit of voting. This process may be new and confusing to so many people.

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