Rochester resident Matt Knutson is the communications and events director for United Way of Olmsted County.

“Sometimes I forget that you’ve never voted,” I told my wife after seeing another headline about the upcoming elections. Sera, a citizen of Madagascar, will once again sit on the sidelines this election cycle. Her path to citizenship here in America at least appears to be several months (instead of years) away, meaning when the next election comes, she’ll finally be able to cast her ballot. Until then, my vote counts for our entire family.

We’re still several weeks away from America’s election day on Tuesday, Nov. 8, but I wanted to take the opportunity to share information about the election now so you might be more informed and participate in the process. Too often people don’t take the time to learn about where to vote or how to vote until it feels too late. Lets all do what we can to prevent that from happening this year.

You can vote if you are a U.S. citizen, live at a Minnesota address by Oct. 19, are at least 18 years old by Election Day, are not serving any part of a felony conviction, including any probation, parole or other conditions such as restitution and not judged incompetent by a court. If that sounds like you, then keep reading. If that’s not you, there’s plenty of other great articles in the Tribune for you to read today.

The best resource for voting is the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website (www.sos.state.mn.us). If you have any questions about what the rest of this article says, check out that website for full details.

First, if you want to vote, you need to register. In Minnesota, this is easy. You can register:

Online

Visit www.sos.state.mn.us and hover over the elections and voting tab. You’ll need a Minnesota ID or the last four digits of your Social Security number.

By mail

Get the paper form from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website or at your county election office. If you’re in Freeborn County, that should be the Freeborn County Government Center at 411 S. Broadway, Albert Lea, MN 56007. This will need to be mailed by Oct. 18.

In person

Visit that county election office and turn in the form by Oct. 18 or register on election day at your voting place. Not all states allow same-day registration — something to celebrate about Minnesota.

Actual voting occurs on Tuesday, Nov. 8, but if you are unable to vote that day, you can absentee vote from Sept. 23 through Nov. 7. Contact your local election office for more information on absentee voting. If you’re like the majority of people voting, you’ll be heading to your voting location sometime between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Note: If you are still in line to vote at 8 p.m., your vote will count! I’d recommend you bring along a photo ID, but you’ll likely not need it if you are already registered.

So now you know how to register and when to vote, but where exactly are you voting at? Visit pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us to find your voting location simply by typing in your address. If you’re not a big fan of the internet, you can also call 1-877-600-VOTE (8683).

Another cool feature of the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website is you can see who all the candidates will be on your specific ballot! This is extremely important, as there are likely many candidates on your ballot that you have never heard of before. We’ve been hearing for months (maybe years) about our presidential candidates, but maybe you haven’t heard about your U.S. representative, state senator, or state representative candidates. There’s certainly other important races too, like for the school board and judges.

We all long for a more unified country, and Election Dray is the one of the few times we come together to do something that can truly make our country better. There are lots of different ideas on what improvement looks like, so it’s important to have your voice heard in the vote. Not everyone has this luxury, so please do your best to vote, and encourage others to do the same.