Are you registered to vote?

Are you registered to vote? Seems like a very simple, very useless question to be asking in a forum like this and in "times like these." Up until about 3 hours ago, I totally agreed with my previous statement about popping such a question, until I was standing in Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station (that's the Amtrak and Marc stop if you're unfamiliar) and was in a somewhat casual conversation about a lot of key issues going on right now with 3 other people. The train, which normally picks me up 10 minutes after I arrive at the station, was 30 minutes late, and about 20 minutes into the conversation about why we're even in this war anymore, something made me ask everyone if they were registered to vote. Much to my disbelief, 2 of the 3 people were not! One had sent in a form months ago and had not received their card, the other was "going to do it." Needless to say, as we arrived at the Aberdeen station, I got to my car and handed them registration forms, inviting them to find me tomorrow and I'll take care of the rest.
Moral of the story, no matter how in depth the conversation gets, no matter how educated your friend for the day may seem, don't hesitate to ask if they're registered to vote...especially if they are on the same side.