National Voter Registration Day was Wednesday, Sept. 27, and Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) want to pass some important information along to potential voters, in case anyone could not make the event.
Director of the Center for Community Engaged Learning, Elizabeth Richards, took some time out of her day and the department’s busy transition into new offices to emphasize the importance that the millennial vote has on high stakes political races, from President to local school committee.
According to Richards, CCEL tries to inform students of their three potential options they have come November.
First, students can vote absentee in their home towns. This means receiving a mailed ballot that must be returned filled out by the state-specific deadline.
Second, students can vote in whatever state they declare residency in. N.H.allows students from out of state to use their university address and legally vote in N.H. There is no deadline to register this way, but bringing a photo identification the day of the election is suggested.
The third option is to sit out. If anyone is not a fan of the options to vote for, then there is the right to not vote at all; however, it is encouraged that students take the opportunity to make an educated difference locally by voting for the senate, governor, and congress positions.
People may say their vote does not matter, but the impact may be felt the largest when it comes to electing local officials. Richards says only 37% of 18-22-year-olds voted in the 2012 election.
Richards states her department’s goal is to help students make informed decisions and give them access to exercising their right to vote. CCEL will be providing transportation to the polls from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 8.
