Voter registration cards may not arrive in time
More than 3,000 voter registration forms were put into the system at the Cache County Clerks Office over the weekend, meaning some students have still not received their voter registration cards, including many of those who had forms turned in by the Associated Students of Utah State University, the College Democrats or College Republicans.
Mistie Moore, a deputy county clerk, said all students who registered through ASUSU, the College Democrats or College Republicans have been registered to vote, but may not receive their cards in time for the election.
“We got them all done Sunday – the cards should have gone out Monday. The problem is we’re getting a lot of the cards back because students forgot to put [their] apartment number on them,” she said.
However, students who don’t receive their cards before Nov. 2 can still vote, Moore said.
“[Students] just need to call us and we’ll just tell them where they need to go to vote,” Moore said.
Tagg Archibald, ASUSU executive vice president, said students can also find a link on Webmail that will help direct them to the right poll station.
Nathan Putnam, committee chair for the USU public affairs board, said about 60 maps that detail election poll stations have been posted on campus.
Archibald said he estimates between 2,200 and 2,500 voter registration forms were turned in through ASUSU’s voter registration effort.
Forms were due to the county office by Oct. 13, he said, and ASUSU turned in the forms they had received on Oct. 11. Students could still find forms in the USU Student Involvement Office after that date, but were required to turn them into the county in person.
The Cache County Clerks Office said student organizations from USU turned all their forms in on time, but most of the information was not processed until this last weekend because of the large volume of forms the office was receiving.
Archibald said he also recommends students make sure they have their drivers licenses with them when they go to vote, and suggests taking a utility bill or some other form of residency as well.
“We don’t want anyone to show up to the polls and not be allowed to vote because they are unprepared,” he said.
Even those students who have received cards, may want to call the county office to make sure their information is correct, he said.
Regardless of whether students receive their cards, Putnam said the important thing is that students have been registered and hopes more students will turn out to the polls this year than in years past.
Only 3,000 to 4,000 USU students vote in each election each year, greatly diminishing the power and voice USU has with the state Legislature, Putnam said.
“The University of Utah has huge clout with the Utah Legislature when they lobby,” he said. “When the U takes a stand, the state legislature listens because [U] students vote.”
Putnam said it is estimated between 25,000 and 30,000 students from the U vote in elections.
“[The legislature is] not losing votes by doing things that hurt higher education,” Putnam said. “The state legislature doesn’t have to take higher education into account because students don’t vote.”
Archibald said although political participation is always higher during a presidential election than other years, he does feel political awareness and activity on campus has increased this year.
“With it being such a tight race, people are starting to realize their voice does make a difference,” he said.
Archibald said he thinks the tuition increase has made many students become more civically aware.
In regards to the amount of power and influence college-aged students have with their elected officials, especially the state legislature, Archibald said. “It’s important students vote so we won’t be taken for granted anymore.”
In addition to the voter registration forms that ASUSU turned into students, nearly 100 were turned in by the College Democrats and another. hundred or more by the College Republicans.
Students can find out where they should report to vote by calling the Cache County Clerks Office, following the link from Webmail or logging onto http://voterlink.utah.gov.
-bnelson@cc.usu.edu
-apassey@cc.usu.edu