Citizen participation in the political process is essential to maintain a healthy republic.

Upon turning 18, many teenagers think to buy lottery tickets, cigarettes, or go to the casino, but registering to vote is another important item that should be on this list.

Students like senior Elijah Madar do not know what the voter registration process includes.

“I have not registered yet because I do not know how,” Madar said.

However, registering to vote is a simple, three-step process.

First, make sure you are eligible. You must be:
• A U.S. citizen
• A Michigan citizen
• A citizen of the town where you are registering
• At least 18 years old

If you are eligible, you may have to fill out an application. It is a single-page application that asks for basic personal information. The address used on this application must be the same as the one used for driver’s license purposes. The application can be found here.

If you have a driver’s license already, the Secretary of State already has all of the application information filled out in its database and the application is not required.

The third step is to submit the application.

One way to submit the application is by hand delivering it to the county, city or township clerk’s office or the local Secretary of State.

An alternative method is to mail it to one of these locations. If choosing this option, there are some extra items you must include.  A list of these additional items can be found here.

After submitting an application, all that is left is waiting for the voter registration card to come in the mail.

Senior Miranda Blaine has already received her voter registration card in the mail.

“I applied for my card the week after my birthday, and it took about three months to receive my card in the mail,” Blaine said.

Blaine said the process was easy.

“I sent it in through snail mail,” Blaine said. “It was easy, but it took a long time.”

The image from this story is from Flickr and follows the Creative Commons legal code.