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Commentary by Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig

Election Day is Nov. 4.
   Unless you just came to this planet or live under a rock, you already know this.
    Open any newspaper, watch any TV and/or listen to any radio talk show and you’ll find men and women of all ages crying for Change, wanting to put Country First and Rocking the Vote.
    What some people may not know — especially those who are planning to vote for the first time ever or in recent years — is that you must be registered to cast that oh-so-important ballot prior to Election Day.
    In California, the cutoff is 15 days before the election. So by my watch, that means this Monday, Oct. 20, is your deadline.
    You can register online, at your local county elections office, the neighborhood library, at any U.S. Post Office and at several events scheduled around the Bay Area this weekend. There should be no excuse for not knowing where to go.
    I guess the question most non-voters ask is, “Why vote?”
    My question is, “Why not?”
    Now, more than any other time in history, all American voices should be heard. Our country is at war … still. The economy is in disarray. There are those who feel they have the right to take away the civil rights of others. If you are a U.S. citizen, a California state resident, age 18 by Election Day, not in prison or on parole for a felony conviction (read last week’s column for details) and have not been judged by a court to be mentally incompetent, you should be preparing to cast your ballot.
    I know some of those propositions and measures can be daunting, and what do you really know about that superior court judge? The great thing about voting is you can vote for who and what you want or don’t want. Just vote for something and/or more importantly, for someone.
    According to California’s Secretary of State Office, since the last 60-day registration report during a presidential election year — Sept. 3, 2004 — the state’s total voter registration has increased from 15,625,180 to 16,171,772 by Sept. 5 of this year. However, the agency reports “the percentage of the total number of registered voters compared to the number of people who were eligible to register to vote has decreased from 70.9 percent to 69.8 percent” for the same time frame.
    So in the next few days, when you see that guy waving his clipboard at you outside Wal-Mart or that lady downtown trying to convince you to register, think twice. In between messaging friends on MySpace, visit www.rockthevote.com. After watching your favorite reality show, spend a few minutes watching CNN or a local newscast and learn the truth about our presidential candidates.
    Voting is your civil right, the foundation of democracy and for women and people of color, it comes after a longfought battle.
    Don’t wait until 2012 to speak up if things don’t go your way this year. Don’t hope that enough people who think like you will vote the way you would have.
    Register to vote today. The change that you want to see may not happen if you don’t.
    For more information, visit www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_ vr.htm.

Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig is an award-winning, professional journalist who resides in Oakland. If you have an individual, organization, issue or other topic that may be of interest to the Globe’s readers, contact her at  talk2mfc@yahoo.com.