Exercise one of your most important rights – vote

The Nov. 2 election is just two months away, and the only way to have a voice in the outcome is to register to vote and cast a ballot.

National Voter Registration Month kicks off in September, according to California Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

So now is a good time to check on your registration status or to get registered for your first election, officials said.

"Californians have just a few weeks left to register to vote in the Nov. 2 general election, but there is no need to wait," Bowen said in a statement. "Registering takes only a few moments and National Voter Registration Month is the perfect time to mark the task off your 'to-do' list."

The last day to register is Oct. 18 while the last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Oct. 26.

People must re-register to vote if they have changed their names, their permanent address or party affiliation.

Assistant Glenn County Elections Clerk Susie Alves said her office also receives a lot of voter registrations by mail and through the California Department of Motor Vehicles when people renew their driver's licenses.

But Alves recommends grabbing a voter registration card at the post office or elections office since it sometimes takes longer to process them through the DMV, she said.

Registered voters will receive voters pamphlets prior to the election and sample ballots with their precinct information or polling places on them, Alves said.

Glenn County has 10 precincts in the towns of Orland and Willows and 20 vote-by-mail precincts for rural communities like Elk Creek, Bayliss, Artois, Ord Bend and Glenn.

Right now, the elections office has not been really busy, she said, as this is not a presidential election.

However, with the California governor's race and a proposition to legalize recreational marijuana use there are some important issues on this ballot, Alves said.

Glenn County currently has 12,118 registered voters on the books as of Tuesday, she said.

The National Association of Secretaries of State has declared September 2010 as National Voter Registration Month.

Bowen said people may register to vote in California if they are United State citizens, reside in California and are at least 18 years old on election day.

However, would-be voters cannot be in prison, convicted of a felony or deemed mentally incompetent by a court, she said.

People may check their voter registration status on the California Secretary of State's website at www.sos.ca.gov/elections/registration-status/index htim. This site will provide county-specific websites and phone numbers dedicated to registration verification.

You may register online at ww.sos.ca.gove/nvrc/fedform/. You may print, sign and mail it or pick up a registration form at any county elections office, public library or U.S. post office.

Voter registration forms, vote-by-mail applications and the Secretary of State's "Guide to Voting" can be found in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Tagalog and Vietnamese at www.sos.ca.gov/elections-multi htim.

The Glenn County Elections office is at 516 W. Sycamore St., Willows. Phone 934-6414. Information on voter registration is available through the county's Web site at www.countyofglenn.net/elections.

Contact Rick Longley at 934-6800 or rlongley@tcnpress.com.