How Much Easier Can It Be?

If the recall of Gray Davis and the election of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger boosted interest in California politics, it hasn’t yet been reflected in voter registration statistics. With another important vote coming up next month, more would-be voters should take advantage of the state’s easy registration process.

Feb. 17, a week from today, is the deadline for new registrants who want to cast their ballots March 2 in the presidential primary and some state primary races and on Schwarzenegger’s $15-billion debt bond issue, among other things.

The most recent figures show that just over 68% of eligible citizens were registered to vote going into the primary campaign, down very slightly from the 2003 recall election and well below the recent high point of 71% for the 2002 statewide election.

How do Californians know whether they are registered? If they have received ballot pamphlets and sample ballots in the mail, they are. The address of their polling place is on the back of the sample ballot.

Those who want to register now should go to the secretary of state’s website at www.ss.ca.gov. for information on how to do it, as well as a downloadable registration form. The forms are also available at Department of Motor Vehicles offices, post offices and many other public offices.

In a clearer trend, Californians are increasingly voting absentee. The back page of the sample ballot includes an application for a mail ballot that must be filled out and returned to the county registrar of voters or the secretary of state’s office by Feb. 24. Absentee ballot applications also can be found on the secretary of state’s website, along with a list of county registrars and how to contact them. Completed forms can be mailed or returned in person.

For those without online access, or confused over what to do, the secretary of state has a voter information hotline, (800) 345-VOTE.

The deadline for returning completed absentee ballots is March 2, either by mail or dropped off at a polling place on voting day. Voters can sign up to automatically receive an absentee ballot every election.

Under a new provision of election law, voters registering as “decline to state,” meaning not affiliated with any party, can choose to vote in the primary of any of the seven recognized political parties: Democratic, Republican, American Independent, Libertarian, Peace and Freedom, Green and Natural Law. Independent voters simply ask a poll worker for one party’s ballot, a perk that is likely to boost the already rising trend toward independent registrations.

Election officials and the Legislature have continually made it easier to register to vote and to vote absentee. It’s hard for Californians these days to claim they didn’t vote because they were “just too busy.”