photo by: Mike Yoder

A voter heads to a polling precinct at Central United Methodist Church before noon Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012.

Although the Nov. 6 general election is still a little more than three weeks away, voting in Kansas will actually begin this coming week.

Tuesday, Oct. 16, is the deadline for voters to register, if they aren’t registered already.

Because of a federal court ruling earlier this year, people do not need to show proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register. They do, however, need to show a government-issued photo ID to vote at the polls.

People who have a valid Kansas driver’s license or state identification card can register online.

Otherwise, registration forms are available at the Douglas County clerk’s office and many other locations throughout the county. People can also download a registration form, either in English or Spanish, from the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.

Advance balloting begins the following day, Wednesday, Oct. 17. That’s the day people can begin casting advance ballots in person at the Douglas County clerk’s office. It’s also the first day the county will begin mailing out advance ballots to those who have requested them.

People can request to have an advance ballot mailed to them by filling out a request form that is available on the county clerk’s website.

Douglas County will continue accepting in-person advance voting at the courthouse through noon Monday, Nov. 5.

County residents who live outside the city of Lawrence can also cast in-person advance ballots on Saturday, Oct. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 3, at Lecompton City Hall, Eudora City Hall and the Baldwin City Fire Station.

During the final week before the election, Monday, Oct. 29, through Friday, Nov. 2, Douglas County will operate additional satellite advance voting sites from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the following locations in Lawrence:

• Golf Course Superintendents Association, 1421 Research Park Drive.

• Flory Meeting Hall – Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St.

• KU’s Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center, 1299 Oread Ave.

Tuesday, Oct. 30, is the last day for people to request advance ballots to be mailed to them for the general election.

Advance ballots that are mailed back to the county must be postmarked on or before Election Day, and they must be received in the county election office no later than Friday, Nov. 9.

People can also hand-deliver their advance ballots to the election office until noon on Election Day or to any polling place before polls close at 7 p.m.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

People who have additional questions about voting can call the secretary of state’s office toll free at 1-800-262-VOTE (8683).