Register to Vote

An astounding one-forth of all BLE members are not registered to vote. This is understandable given the pull on members' time by work. It seems that Locomotive Engineers never have time to do anything but work and what little free time they have is usually spent with their families.

Nevertheless, voting is the most important component of the American democracy, and registering to vote is easy. It is as simple as filling out a form when you renew you drivers' license. It's the BLE's goal to encourage members to register and vote in the upcoming elections.

Thanks to the National Voter Registration Act, known as the "motor voter" law, registering to vote is more convenient than ever before. Now, all states (except Minnesota, North Dakota, Wyoming and Wisconsin) must allow citizens to register to vote by mail and must accept a universal mail-in voter registration form designed by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). This form is available at various government agencies including the agency in your state that renews your drivers' license.

The following is a list of websites and phone numbers of election officials by state. Contact them for more information on alternative ways to register in your state.

ALABAMA Director of Voter Registration Montgomery, AL (334) 242-4337 http://www.sos.state.al.us/   ALASKA Division of Elections Juneau, AK (907) 465-4611 http://www.gov.state.ak.us/ltgov/elections/homepage.html   ARIZONA Office of Assistant Secretary of State P hoenix, AZ (602) 542-6167 http://www.sosaz.com/   ARKANSAS Election Services Little Rock, AR (501) 682-5070 http://www.sosweb.state.ar.us/   CALIFORNIA Office of Chief of Elections Sacramento, CA (916) 657-2166 http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections.htm   COLORADO Elections Officer Denver, CO (303) 894-2680 #1 http://www.sos.state.co.us/contact.html   CONNECTICUT Elections Office Hartford, CT (860) 509-6100 http://www.state.ct.us/sots/   DELAWARE Office of State Election Commissioner Dover, DE (302) 739-4277 http://www.state.de.us/election/index.htm   DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Board of Elections and Ethics Washington, DC (202) 727-2525 Http://www.dcboee.org   FLORIDA Division of Elections Tallahassee, FL (850) 488-7690 http://election.dos.state.fl.us/index.html   GEORGIA Elections Division Atlanta, GA (404) 656-2871 http://www.sos.state.ga.us/elections/default.htm   HAWAII Elections Division Honolulu, HI (808) 453-8683 http://www.hawaii.gov/elections/index.html   IDAHO Office of Secretary of State for Elections Boise, ID (208) 334-2300 http://www.idsos.state.id.us/elect/eleindex.htm   ILLINOIS Board of Elections Springfield, IL (217) 782-4141 http://www.sos.state.il.us/   INDIANA State Election Board Indianapolis, lN (317) 232-3939 http://www.state.in.us/sos/   IOWA Office of Secretary of State Des Moines, IA (515) 281-5865 http://www.sos.state.ia.us/register/r10/r10voter.htm   KANSAS Elections Office Topeka, KS (913) 296-2236 http://www.kssos.org/elewelc.html   KENTUCKY State Board of Elections Frankfort, KY (502) 573-7100 http://www.sos.state.ky.us/ElecDiv.htm   LOUISIANA Office of Commissioner of Elections Baton Rouge, LA (504) 925-7885 http://www.sec.state.la.us/elect-1.htm   MAINE Elections Office Augusta, ME (207) 287-6219 http://www.state.me.us/sos/cec/elec/elec.htm   MARYLAND Board of Elections Annapolis, MD (410) 974-3711 http://www.sos.state.md.us/sos/admin/html/canvas.html   MASSACHUSETTS Office of Director of Elections Boston, MA (617) 727-2828 http://www.state.ma.us/sec/ele/eleidx.htm   MICHIGAN Office of Director of Elections Lansing MI (517) 373-2540 http://www.sos.state.mi.us/election/elect.html   MINNESOTA Office of Secretary of State St Paul, MN (612) 215-1440 http://www.state.mn.us/ebranch/sos/   MISSISSIPPI Elections Office Jackson, MS (601) 359-1350 http://www.sos.state.ms.us/soshome.html

MISSOURI Election Services Jefferson City, MO (573) 751-2301 http://mosl.sos.state.mo.us/   MONTANA Office of Secretary of State Helena, MT (406) 444-4732 http://www.mt.gov/sos/election.htm   NEBRASKA Office of Secretary of State Lincoln, NE (402) 471-2554 http://www.nol.org/home/SOS/   NEVADA Office of Secretary of State for Elections Carson City, NV (702) 687-3176 http://sos.state.nv.us/   NEW HAMPSHIRE Asst. Secretary of State Concord, NH (603) 271-3242 http://www.state.nh.us/sos/elections.htm   NEW JERSEY Election Division Trenton, NJ (609) 292-3761 http://www.state.nj.us/lps/elections/   NEW MEXICO Bureau of Elections Santa Fe, NM (505) 827-3620 http://www.sos.state.nm.us/elect.htm   NEW YORK State Board of Elections Albany, NY (518) 474-8100 http://www.elections.state.ny.us/   NORTH CAROLINA State Board of Elections Raleigh, NC (919) 733-7173 http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/   NORTH DAKOTA No voter registration requirement http://www.state.nd.us/   OHIO Office of Secretary of State Columbus, OH (614) 466-2585 http://www.state.oh.us/sos/elecpage.html   OKLAHOMA State Election Board Oklahoma City, OK (405) 521-2391 http://www.oklaosf.state.ok.us/~elections/   OREGON Office of Secretary of State Salem, OR (503) 986-1518 http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/elechp.htm   PENNSYLVANIA Office of Commissioner of Elections Harrisburg, PA (717) 787-5280 http://www.dos.state.pa.us/election/cel.htm   RHODE ISLAND Office of Director of Elections Providence, RI (401) 277-2340 S http://www.state.ri.us/submenus/rielclnk.htm   SOUTH CAROLINA State Election Commission Columbia, SC (803) 734-9060 http://www.state.sc.us/scsec/   SOUTH DAKOTA Office of Supervisor of Election Pierre, SD (605) 773-3537 http://www.state.sd.us/state/executive/sos/sos.htm   TENNESSEE Elections Office Nashville, TN (615) 741-7956 http://www.state.tn.us/sos/sos.htm   TEXAS Office of Secretary of State Austin, TX (512) 463-5650 http://www.sos.state.tx.us/function/elec1/index.html   UTAH Office of Director of Elections Salt Lake City, UT (801) 538-1040 http://www.governor.state.ut.us/menu/html/elections.html   VERMONT Office of Secretary of State Montpelier, VT (802) 828-2304 http://www.sec.state.vt.us/elections/electdex.htm   VIRGINIA State Board of Elections Richmond, VA (804) 786-6551 http://www.sbe.state.va.us/   WASHINGTON Office of Election Director Olympia, WA (360) 902-4167 http://www.secstate.wa.gov/   WEST VIRGINIA Office of Chief of Staff Charleston, WV (304) 558-6000 http://www.state.wv.us/sos/election/   WISCONSIN State Elections Board Madison, WI (608) 266-8005 http://seb.state.wi.us/   WYOMING Deputy Secretary of State Cheyenne, WY (307) 777-7186 http://soswy.state.wy.us/election/election.html

© 2000 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers