1 month remaining to register to vote

The voter registration deadline is quickly approaching for this year's general election.\nThe last day citizens can register to vote in Indiana is Tuesday, Oct. 10. Residents who voted in Monroe County during the last election and have not since changed their addresses retain their eligibility and simply have to show up at their precinct polling place Nov. 7 or cast an absentee ballot by Nov. 6.\nFor everyone else, options for registering abound.\nMonroe County's official registration office can be found at Room 202 in the lobby of the Justice Building, 301 N. College Ave. It remains open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.\nA few other government offices at the Monroe County Courthouse, 100 W. Fifth St., carry the relevant form, including the Recorder's Office and the Treasurer's Office. Alternately, registration can be completed at the city clerk's office in Suite 110 at the Showers Building, 401 N. Morton St., or at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, 1612 S. Liberty Drive. Under the 1994 federal "Motor Voter" law, citizens can register while renewing their driver's license.\nThose pressed for time can visit www.indianavoters.com or Indiana's secretary of state's Web site, www.in.gov/sos, to print out an application, which can either be dropped off at any of the aforementioned offices or mailed to Monroe County Voter Registration, 301 N. College Ave., Room 202 Bloomington, IN 47402.\nTo register, residents must be U.S. citizens at least 18 years old by Nov. 7 not currently imprisoned on a criminal conviction who have maintained a place of residence within their registered precinct at least 30 days prior to the election.\nState law requires those registering to provide an Indiana driver's license or federal photo ID, such as a passport. Current student IDs from state-sponsored universities such as IU qualify, but out-of-state driver's licenses are not recognized as valid \nidentification under a 2005 law. Out-of-state students wishing to vote locally may show up with their University ID or pick up an Indiana photo ID card from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch free of charge.\nTo confirm addresses, registrants must also furnish some documentation, such as a recent bill or bank statement. And to mail in a registration form for Monroe County, an Indiana state driver's license number must be provided. Officials warn residents not to mail in the original form of ID.\nAny false information on the registration form constitutes perjury, a felony punishable by up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.\nMonroe County Clerk Jim Fielder encourages residents to register to vote at the earliest available opportunity. It can take up to seven business days to verify registration with a mailing sent out to verify address. Mailings returned as undeliverable invalidate registration.\nAfter registration has been validated, the county sends residents written confirmation with the location of their precinct polling site. Anyone who fails to receive mailed notification after registering or re-registering at a new address should call the Monroe County Voter Registration Office at 349-2690 to clear the matter up, Fielding said.\nOnce the registration period ends, registered voters can cast absentee ballots up through the day before the election without providing a reason. Absentee voting can be done in the atrium of the Curry Building, 238 W. Seventh St., from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday from Oct. 10 to Oct. 21.\nThe county has extended those hours through Saturday for two weeks from Oct. 22 to Nov. 4. The hours are 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Nov. 6, the election's eve.