One of the essentials to the "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" spirit is voting. The first step merely entails registering, and while this sounds rather painless, some people never manage to get signed up simply because they do not know where to go.

The National Voter Registration Act was enacted in the early 1990s to remedy this quandary and raise awareness of the importance of casting a vote. Since then, the places where you can get on board with your civic duty have burgeoned considerably.

This is when Maryland added registering to vote to the list of business you can take care of at any of the MVA offices across the state. Thus, when it comes to applying, renewing, or changing your address on a license you can also complete a voter registration application.

The state makes it difficult not to register, so it is hard to have the excuse any longer of location ignorance. Besides the MVA you can also sign up at area libraries, post offices, colleges and universities, and offices associated with the Department of Health or the Department of Aging. It is just that easy.

Perhaps the easiest possible way to make sure you are on the rolls before the next election is by printing and completing an application from the State Election Board. Once everything is in order, mail the finished form to your local County Board of Elections. You can also call and request that an application be sent to your home address. The number is (800) 222-VOTE (8683).

Upon a successful registration, a voter card will be sent to your address along with information of what district you are in and the actual place where you can vote. Until this card is in your hand, you will not be considered a member of the voting ranks.

Of course, there are a few basic requirements, but even those are a cinch to meet, unless you call a prison cell home or have a sordid criminal past.

Voting Registration Requirements

You must be:

• A citizen of the United States

• A Maryland resident

• 18 years of age on the day of the election

You must not be:

• Declared mentally incompetent

• A felon

• One who was convicted of pulling off a Chicago Machine-style election by peddling votes

The registration application is also available in Spanish. Both the English and Spanish versions are in PDF format. You can download free Adobe Reader software, which will enable you to download and print the documents, if you do not already have it installed on your computer.

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