In nearly 20 states, OCT. 6 is the last chance to make sure you're registered. And for the list of persons who have been diverted from the rolls for an incomplete or inactive registration—projectvote2008.org website posts a spreadsheet from a bunch of swing jurisdictions—a voter usually faces that very same deadline to fix the info and avoid getting bumped to a provisional ballot on Nov. 4.

The states with Oct. 6 the last day to register include:
COLORADO, OHIO, FLORIDA, LOUISIANA, INDIANA, GEORGIA, PENNSYLVANIA,
VIRGINIA, TENNESSEE, TEXAS, D.C., NEW MEXICO (10/7 for N.M.), KENTUCKY, MISSOURI (10/8 for Mo.), HAWAII, ARKANSAS, ARIZONA, WYOMING.

You can check online now that your registration is active and your name hasn't been purged from the rolls - as happened to Charles Coxwell of Cobbs Cty, GA because he hadn't voted since 2004, or hasn't landed on a challenge list like the one that snagged Kevin Furey, a Montana Army reservist who, before heading to deploy in Kuwait, sent a mail FW card to the post office which triggered the state GOP's party challenge to his right to vote.

Last chance! [Update to earlier article]. Register by OCT 14 in WEST VIRGINIA, NJ, MARYLAND, OREGON. And by OCT 14 in NEVADA (in-person only by this date; mail registration has closed).
By Sat., OCT 11 in DELAWARE.
By Oct 15 in MASSACHUSETTS.
For WISCONSIN, it's either by Oct 15 postmark by mail, or else by Nov 3 if in -person. For KANSAS, register by Oct 20.
For CALIF by Oct 20. Registering to vote closed Monday Oct. 6 in nearly 20 states.

Today, you can check online that your registration is active and your name  hasn't been purged from the rolls - as happened to Charles Coxwell of Cobbs Cty, GA because he hadn't voted since 2004, or hasn't landed on a challenge list like one that snagged Kevin Furey, a Montana Army reservist who, before heading to deploy in Kuwait, sent a mail FW card to the post office which triggered the state GOP's party challenge to his right to vote.

A lot of the states with October deadlines are critical and vote-rich. I've inserted below the last-minute registration procedures for some of the states. The states that had deadlines in the past week to register included:
COLORADO, OHIO, FLORIDA, LOUISIANA, INDIANA, GEORGIA, PENNSYLVANIA, VIRGINIA, TENNESSEE, TEXAS, D.C., NEW MEXICO, KENTUCKY, MISSOURI , HAWAII, ARKANSAS, ARIZONA, WYOMING.

Now is the time to check on your existing registration, you can pretty much do that online from the database connections, either officially from here (left column),...

Procedures are in place now that will eliminate the voting registration or ballots of people who are truly eligible to vote in battleground states. One of those persons could be you, or the senior citizen you legally registered in a canvass last week.

Don't get taken by surprise and let the county Board of Elections disqualify you. Take the steps to confirm your name isn't crossed off the rolls if your state implements the "exact match" rule which can cover middle names and initials left off a record.  Voter ID requirements come into play too.

I am scandalized by my own ignorance.  Yours too.

I suppose it's presumptuous of me to say I am scandalized by your ignorance. If you are reading this, you are an anonymous reader. Even if we happen to know each other, we are having a private and anonymous conversation -- right out here in public, thanks to the Cortexan interface.  But odds are that you are -- no offense -- at least as ignorant as I am.

It will take me a few paragraphs to get around to telling you why I am scandalized, and the nature of my ignorance. Please bear with me.  All will be revealed before your eyes glaze over.