Hello Think community, my name is Nate Stienstra and today I registered to vote. Despite having enveloped myself in politics during the last several months, it never dawned on me until just today that I wasn't even sure i was registered. I did a simple search on my state's (Iowa) secretary of state website, and found no match for my name. This got me thinking..I wonder how many other people don't even realize they're not registered...

There are many ways to register, especially with all the independent campaigns such as Rock the Vote and Declare Yourself, and in the coming election year we will see organizations like these continue to push for registration. However, despite the continued check on voter awareness, I think there are still many people who simply assume they are registered. I myself figured I did it at the Driver's License station at one point or another (there are numerous locations to register to vote, i.e. your county auditor, secretary of state's office, public libraries, DHS, DOT, or DMV offices and political party offices; it's not necessary to go through third-parties).

Another element of confusion for me was that I remember voting in 2004, and I figured once registered, always registered...which is true...to a certain extent. My assumption is that in the last election I registered in my hometown rather than my college address where I currently reside. There are certain times when an already registered voter must re-register, or rather update their information. These include a change of name, change of address, or change of party affiliation.

So, my intent with this post is not only to inform and answer questions any of you might have about voter registration, but to motivate you to make sure you are registered. And if you're not, go do it! With that being said, if we young people want our voice heard, we need to get out to our caucuses and primaries long before the November 4th election date...but there's room for plenty more discussion on that at a later date.