By Maddie Thibault
Let us talk voting. What do we know about it? You get to register to vote at 18, it is a thing that people do, right? It is your constitutional right guaranteed to you, and people use that, right? Maybe, or maybe not. This week, students are going to FYP’s to do voter registration with the incoming first-years who are not registered yet, explain the voting registration process, give some background on statistics with college-aged voters and offer opportunities to become involved in the political arena that affects our everyday life.
Registering to vote, getting an absentee ballot and finding out information is almost too easy on this campus. St. Lawrence has partnered with the Andrew Goodman Foundation to increase voter registration on college campuses like ours. Only 44 percent of students voted in the 2016 general election, and only 50.4 percent nationally turned out to vote in that same election.
Students, faculty and community members are able to attend a training that gives them the opportunity to understand and comprehend how to help register people who may not be.
Students and faculty at St. Lawrence are not only coming to the FYP’s to register and inform students, but have set up tables at places like the Student Organization Fair and in the Student Center, to increase accessibility and ease of being able to register to vote, file for an absentee ballot or get information on certain deadlines that may impede potential voters from being able to exercise their right.
The election is coming up soon and so are the deadlines. Election Day this year takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 6, and that is only 46 days away as of Friday, Sept. 21. The deadline for registering to vote, if you have not been previously registered in New York State, is Oct. 12. The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot, postmarked or personally delivered, to your county’s Board of Elections in New York State for the General Election is Oct. 30. The last day that you have to send in your absentee ballot in New York State is Nov. 5.
You are allowed to vote here and register here, at St. Lawrence, given that you have residence here, you are able to vote here and receive transportation to go in and personally vote.
Those who are registering you to vote and help you access the polls on Election Day, Nov. 6, are doing this as a bipartisan effort. We are going to be helping drive you to the polls, help deliver your voter registration, and help you with your absentee ballot if you prefer to vote in your area. We just want you to be able to exercise this ability that we are all given.
Voting is your civic duty. It is how you stay involved when you feel like your voice cannot be heard. Voting for our officials is one of the fundamental tiers of our democracy. Without it, we would not be the United States of America.
When asked why voting was important to him, Matt Thibault ’19 said, “Voting is our moral imperative, especially considering the current climate of our world governments. It is far too important to ignore.”
No matter what your party affiliation is, voting is something every citizen over 18 has the right to do, and should exercise that right to make your voice heard. Your vote does matter, it is your voice. Use it.