Get your vote on

SGA, OrangeBand educate students to increase participation

Carolyn Walser / senior photographer Senior JohnAlex Golden, SGA student vice president of administrative affairs, hands out voting registrations to freshmen by the James Madison statue last Friday.

With November approaching, two organizations are working together to make voting easier for students.
The Student Government Association and the OrangeBand Initiative are working together to help increase JMU student voting participation.

"I haven’t registered yet, but once I get home I’ll register and grab an absentee ballot before the election," said sophomore Kristen Kirby, who is from Massachusetts.

All voters must register to vote by Sept. 3, according to Vote Smart. To vote by absentee ballot the voter must turn their application in to their general registrar at least five days before the election. The forms can be mailed to your local county clerk. The ballots must be turned in to the general registrar’s office by 7 p.m. the day before the election, according to Vote Smart.

The two groups will work around campus throughout September to help students register to vote or fill out absentee ballots. Students also can visit the SGA office with any additional questions or to complete the necessary paperwork. The SGA also is arranging transportation to poll sites in Harrisonburg, according to Student Body President Tom Culligan.

"Students just need to provide their information to us and we will help them with the rest," Culligan said.

OrangeBand Initiative will hold their activities primarily on Constitution Week, Sept. 12 to 17.

The OrangeBand Initiative and SGA are running the 81% Project, which aims to register 81 percent of students to vote. The groups will hold teach-ins and forums for students concerning important issues in the upcoming election. Students can visit www.orangeband.org/ for more information on the week’s events.

Further voting information can be found online at the Virginia State Board of Elections Web site, www.sbe.virginia.gov/, provides useful information about registration deadlines in Virginia and obtaining absentee ballots.

There also are numerous Web sites designed to inform voters about election issues and candidates. Project Vote Smart, http://www.vote-smart.org/, provides detailed information on candidates’ backgrounds, committee involvement and voting records.

"By voting, people express their beliefs about the issues that certain candidates represent," said sophomore Babbie Dunnington, who has already registered to vote. "In doing so, voters provide for a government that behaves according to the will of all citizens and not just a few exclusive groups."