Don't worry about registration if you are in North Dakota - it's the only state in America that does not require voter registration.

You can wait until Election Day to register in Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Wyoming. Note that in Montana: (1) on Monday November 3 only, you will NOT be able to register at the county clerks office between 12 Noon and 5:00 p.m.; and (2) on Election Day November 4, you may only register at the county seat in the county clerks office, but may do so up until poll closing time.

Registration

1. Check your voter registration status now: depending on the state, voter registration can close as early as October 4 (the mail registration or non county clerk agency deadline in Nevada). Call or go online to your local elections office, give them what you think your registered name and address are, and ask the office to confirm that you are registered and eligible to vote in the November election. If there is any doubt, immediately re-register in person at the elections office.

2. If you aren't registered, personally visit the elections office (bringing some form of ID with name and address with you in case they ask) and get registered. Now is the time to do this, because come October, when registration closes in many states, elections offices will be flooded with applicants and will be crowded.

3. If you are planning on moving within your state between now and Election Day, please be aware of these typical requirements in states that do not have election day registration:

First, find out when registration closes in your state. If you move before the registration close date, you will need to re-register, especially if the move is to another county.

If your move is after the registration close date, find out if you will be able to transfer your registration after the registration close date (in Kentucky, you can do this up to and including Election Day if the transfer is within the same county).

If your move is to another county in your state after the close of registration, see if your soon-to-be former county will allow you to vote by mail (absentee) or cast an 'early vote' at the county elections office. If not, before moving call the elections office in the new county and see if you can re-register there. If the answer is "no," your only option may be to go back to the former county on Election Day and vote one last time (the requirement in Kentucky).

If your move is to another state, before you move find out the new state's registration close date. If you expect to arrive in the new state after the registration close date, ask the county elections office in your current state if you can cast a ballot for one last time. Some states (Kentucky and Nevada to name two) have expatriate voting statutes that allow former residents to vote only for President/Vice President one last time by mail-in ballot. Others (Nevada and California, to name two, but not Kentucky) allow new residents who arrive after the registration closes up to 7 days before an election to cast a ballot only for President/Vice President.

Vote Early

4. If your state is one of the 31 early voting or no-excuses-required absentee voting states, do it. Check www.earlyvoting.net, and then check the deadlines for requesting, receiving and returning absentee ballots, or for 'early voting' on voting machines. Absentee voting request deadlines typically occur in October, but voters can usually fill out the request form at any time.

5. If your state or county uses Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) machines and you don't trust them, vote absentee. Reason: absentee ballots are optically scanned paper ballots that, in a recount, can be more auditable than other forms of "paper trails."

6. Learn and apply your state's laws to validate an absentee ballot. The basic requirement is usually an elections official's comparison of the absentee ballot envelope signature and the signature on the voter registration application. Some states have additional requirements: Kentucky , for example, requires the voter to sign in two places (an "inner envelope detachable flap" as well as an "outer envelope").

7. Learn how and when your state requires absentee ballots to be delivered. Most states require physical delivery of the voted ballot by the time the polls close, but some states require earlier delivery. Some will allow the voter to personally deliver the ballot, but others such as Kentucky will not. Some will allow it to be delivered to any polling place in the voter's county of registration (California), but others require delivery to the county clerk (Nevada and Kentucky).

8. If your state will not let you vote absentee, see if it will let you vote early in the county elections office or at a satellite facility. For example, Nevada allows both no-excuses absentee voting and early voting, whereas Kentucky will give you an absentee ballot only if you declare under oath that you will be away from the county of registration on Election Day and all early voting days; Kentucky will allow you to vote early only if you declare under oath that you will be absent from the county of registration on Election Day.

Voting on Election Day

9. If you must vote at the polling place on Election Day, learn the requirements: right time, right place, right form of identification in states that require it, right voting instructions. If you have a choice at the polling place between an optical scan machine and a DRE, choose the optical scan machine.

10. Learn what to do if an emergency arises. For example, Kentucky allows voters with medical emergencies between October 22 and November 4 to vote absentee; Nevada and California have somewhat broader statutes allowing emergency absentee balloting by persons who become ill or who are “suddenly called away” in the last 7 days before the election.

11. Learn what to do if there is a polling place breakdown on Election Day. Each state and county elections office should have an emergency plan in place.

12. Learn what to do you if someone challenges your right to vote at the polling place. Procedures vary from state to state. In some states, the law also allows pre-election challenges to registration (Nevada).

13. Learn the provisional ballot procedure if your name does not appear on the polling place roster. The federal Help America Vote Act requires each state to allow voters whose voting status cannot be verified on Election Day to vote a provisional ballot. However, each state has different requirements, so check them out.