In the State of California, you must register to vote each time you move to a new address. You can request a voter registration form online, or you can go to your Post Office, DMV, or local library to pick up a voter registration form. Make sure that either the correct county is printed in the center top of the form, or that there is no county specified. If you live in Orange County and you register to vote using a Los Angeles County form, your registration will incur delays if it is even accepted at all.

You may be used to putting your last name first on official government documents, but this is not one in which you should do that. Your full first name is required in the first string of boxes on line 1, with each letter in its own box. If you run out of boxes, leave it as it is. Next you should write your full middle name in the second string of boxes on line 1. Your current last name goes into the string of boxes on line 2. If you prefer to be addressed by your salutation before your name, make sure to indicate which you prefer in the section to the right of your last name.

Your address is an extremely important section, because it ensures that absentee ballots, sample ballots, and voter guides are sent to the correct location. DO NOT place a P.O. Box address in section 4. Write out the entire street number, and street name, abbreviating only the street title such as avenue, drive, circle, boulevard, etc. Apartment or space numbers do not go into the same line as the street name, but into the string of boxes to the right of the street address. In the next string of boxes below the street address, please write the full name of your city. If you run out of boxes because of a long city name, leave it as it is. Even when cities are misspelled, the Post Office can still deliver mail to the correct address by using the street address and the zip code. Since we're talking about California voter registration, CA should already be written into the state boxes. If it isn't, then write it in. Next, write in your five digit zip/postal code. In the box following that, specify the county that you live in. Section 6 is only for people who live in rural areas without street addresses. Section 7 and 8 is the area where you would specify a P.O. Box address.

Sections 9 and 10 are where you specify your 6 digit date of birth as well as the name of the U.S. State or foreign country where you were born. Section 11 is where you should write in the number of either your CA driver's license or CA identification card. There is no legal reason why an 18 year old U.S. And California citizen should NOT have one of those cards; however, much to my dismay, there is a section immediately following these boxes allowing you to enter the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number, just in case you have neither driver's license, nor ID. If you hate spam, then I recommend leaving sections 12 and 13 blank.

In section 14, you are given the options of which political parties you wish to register with. You may only select one; you also have the option of not registering with a party at all. However, be advised that California has what is known as a closed primary which means that except for the assorted third parties, you will not be allowed to vote for a primary candidate in either the Democratic or Republican parties. If you register as a Democrat, you can't vote in the Republican primary and likewise a registered Republican can't vote in the Democratic primary. Section 15 offers you the ability to receive absentee ballots via mail. In section 16, you are asked to specify what previous name or home address you've ever been registered to vote for before. Answering no to either question on section 17 disqualifies your ballot: be honest. In section 18 you must sign with your signature and date it. If you speak a language other than English or you can volunteer to be a poll worker or provide a polling place, you should sign the section to the right.

The registration form is initially folded into three sections when you first open it; it is the lowest section of the form that you should carefully detach from the middle section. LIGHTLY moisten the lower edge of the form and fold it until it meets the higher edge of the form. Press together for about 20 second until the two sides stick. To prevent delays, theft, loss, or damage it is advisable that you or someone you trust personally mail it at the Post Office or carry it to your local Registrar of Voters office.  If you have done this at least 15 days before the next election, then you are now registered to vote in California.  Congratulations, you've just completed one of your civic duties and have participated in an initial process that some people in other nations can only dream about.  Just don't forget to vote!