I’ve been a lifelong Libertarian and am surprised to find myself wanting to vote in the Democratic primary to help Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. It is an understatement to say that he is special and inspiring.

I also find him convincing when he declares he will become the Democratic nominee and win the election. I don’t know his plan, but I do know something about the complicated math of the Democratic National Committee’s delegate system. What is clear is that he could sure use votes from people like me who have never voted in a Democratic primary before.

The young adults in my circle are taken with RFK, Jr., too. They’ve said things like, “I’ll vote for him if he gets the nomination.” My reply has been, “change your voter registration so you can help him get that!” They’re open to this, but I know they’re too busy to prioritize figuring out how to adjust their voter registrations. So, I did the legwork for them. I hope it might be useful to you, too. The steps are simple and not worthy of anyone’s procrastination.

Every state has its own voter registration rules. You can check for your state’s at this site that summarizes for all states.

I am in Colorado. Our rules allow us to register as unaffiliated, with an option to receive all major party primary ballets. As unaffiliated, we can only vote ONE primary ballot, but we receive both so can choose which is more important to us at the time. Lately, I’ve been registered Republican, which limits me to the Republican primary ballot. In just a few moments online at the Colorado Secretary of State’s website, I made the change to unaffiliated.

Colorado’s rules work in favor of those, like me, who want to decide at the time of the primaries which is more crucial. Of the Republicans, I like Vivek best. My plan is to see what happens between now and the primaries. If by some miracle it looks like RFK, Jr. is sure to win the Democratic nomination, I might vote in the Republican primary.

Not all states give you the option of deciding at the time of the primaries like Colorado does.

Here are the rules for the states where my family’s young adults live.

California and Arizona: You can only vote in the primary of your registered party affiliation and if you’re independent, you cannot vote in any primary.

Montana and Virginia: You don’t register with affiliation to a party and can vote any party in the primary.

The rules also require registration so many days before the primary to vote in the primary. For example, the presidential primary election in California will be March 5, 2024 and you must be registered Democrat at least 15 days before that to be able to vote in the Democratic primary.

It should take only moments for anyone to adjust their voter registration. I encourage you to do it immediately, if you are thinking like I am. Then consider going one step further and guide any other kindred thinkers in your circles to do it, too.