The MSM (a.k.a. "mainstream media") seems so focused on whipping every American citizen—and most of the rest of the world—into a tizzy about our upcoming primaries, they sometimes forget to provide practical information. But your friendly neighborhood Metromix wants to help you do your civic duty! If you have questions about where to vote, how to register, and whether you’ve missed a deadline, check out our FAQ...and stay tuned in following weeks for a listing of candidate appearances, local fundraising events and a "where to watch the election results" bar guide.

D'oh! I don’t think I’ve registered to vote yet. How do I make sure?
If you’ve lived in New York State for 30 days, and you’re a U.S. citizen born before February 5, 1990 (feel old yet?), you’re eligible to vote in New York State. If you haven’t registered before, just head on over to your county’s Board of Elections:

Bronx  1780 Grand Concourse, 5th floor
Kings (Brooklyn)  345 Adams Street, 4th floor
New York (Manhattan)  200 Varick Street, 10th floor
Queens  126-06 Queens Boulevard
Richmond (Staten Island)  1 Edgewater Plaza
Nassau  400 County Seat Drive, Mineola
Suffolk (mail-in only)  P.O. Box 700, Yaphank Ave., Yaphank
Westchester  25 Quarropas Street, White Plains

Registration cards are also available at the DMV, the Dept. of Labor, SUNY and CUNY schools, and many other state agencies. But if that’s too much of a schlep, you can call 1-800-FOR-VOTE to request an application or you can complete this online form.

But do it soon: Saturday, January 11 is the last day you can register to vote in the primary!

I don’t belong to a party! Can I still vote in the primaries?
To vote in a party’s primary, you have to be registered with that particular party. When you register, you’re asked to pick a party. You can enroll in one of the Big Two, but if you like to make political gestures, you can join one of the parties listed...or write one in. Of course, if you’re registered with the Socialist Party or Marijuana Reform Party, you don’t get to pick the Democratic nominee. And you won’t get to switch parties until after the general election this fall.

If you’re already registered to vote, you can call 1-800-FOR-VOTE to check who you’re registered with. But if you want to switch parties, you’re out of luck. The deadline was Oct. 12, 2007.

Hey, I filled out the forms. Now when do I get to exercise my right to suffer...uh, right of suffrage?
With 24 states holding their primaries on the same day, pundits and wonks are calling it “Super-Duper-Tuesday,” “Tsunami Tuesday,” or “The Tuesday of Destiny.” You can call it “February 5.”

But Tuesday’s my busiest day – I’ll never find time to vote! What should I do?
Well, the polls do open at 6 a.m. in NYC, Westchester and Long Island, and they stay open until 9 p.m. And the law says you can miss up to two hours of work without loss of pay (Editor's note: See you at noon, fellow co-workers!). But if you just can’t fit it in, apply for an absentee ballot, either by visiting your county board or by downloading this PDF. Send it to your county’s Board of Elections by January 29, and you’ll get a ballot in the mail.

Maybe I’d rather just visit my polling station. How do I find out where I’m supposed to go?
If you’ve registered, you should receive a card in the mail that tells you where your polling station is. But proactive Gothamites can call 1-866-VOTE-NYC to learn where to perform their civic duty, or punch their address into this online poll-site locator.

For you bridge-and-tunnellers, there’s no Internet resource to find your polling station. Until your county catches up with the 21st century, you’ll have to dig up the information the old-fashioned way: a phone call to the county seat.

Nassau  516-571-2411
Suffolk  631-852-4500
Westchester  914-995-5700

I haven’t heard enough from these candidates to know which one I want to vote for. When will they come through town to speak?
No time soon, unfortunately! Those candidates who’re left standing after the Iowa caucus have hustled on to New Hampshire already. Maybe a few of them will pass through the five boroughs from private fundraisers, but nobody’s got a public speech scheduled for the next week or so. But stop back here every week for further bulletins.

Yeah, I plan to vote. That'll take a whole five minutes. What else can I do that day? You know, besides work.
Well, Caucasian rapper extraordinaire Pittsburgh Slim is playing the Knitting Factory—is he black enough? There's a "Blindfolds and Bling" workshop at Babeland for you lover types (hello, Kucinich and wife!). Harry Potter fans can enjoy Muggle Quidditch (is that how Huckabee lost 100 lbs.? Eh, probably not). And, for Mike Gravel and Fred Thompson boosters, feel free to drown your sorrows at "Out Fishing," the $1 PBR/free hot dog extravaganza taking place at Williamsburg's Lazy Catfish.