Registering as an independent will usually bar you from participating in any party’s caucuses or conventions. So if you plan on becoming politically active in one party in the near future, you may want to register in that party.

West Virginia has what's called a "closed" primary, which means that if you register in one party, you cannot vote for candidates in another party.

At the Primary Election, if you have a party choice listed on your voter registration, you will only be given the ballot of that party. If you register with no party affiliation, you will be given a non-partisan ballot in the Primary Election. The Republican, Mountain and Democratic Parties allow any voter who is not registered with an official party to vote in their Primary Election.

For the General Election, every registered voter receives the same ballot, regardless of party affiliation. You can choose from any candidate for each office on the ballot. Hope this helps! For more information, check out the West Virginia website at http://www.sos.wv.gov/elections/Pages/Political_Parties_in_West_Virginia.aspx#5

There are a lot of great tools and guides that can help you figure out who and what is on your ballot this year. Check out http://www.vote411.org/ or http://votesmart.org/voteeasy/# or http://thisismyballot.org/ to see the candidates and issues on the ballot in your area.

Your Secretary of State or local elections board may have sample ballots as well.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 2nd. The polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

You have the legal right to register and vote at any address that you will have been living in for a state-specific amount of time prior to the election. In every state, if you moved into on-or off-campus housing at the start of the fall semester, you will have been living there for long enough to vote.