Students have voting options
By Erica Sagon
Asst. City
Editor
To make voting for Indiana's presidential primary
and general elections more convenient, students can choose to register
and vote from their campus addresses or register in their home communities
and vote by absentee ballot.
"Since (students) are on campus for quite some time,
they are a member of the community here," said Deborah Seders, Republican
member of the Tippecanoe County Board of Registration. "But some people
may feel more in touch with their communities back home."
Eric Murbach, president of the Purdue College Democrats
and a junior in the School of Liberal Arts, said that giving students
a choice of location is not a favorable idea.
"I would say that voting where you go to college
vs. where your home is is more beneficial," Murbach said. "You spend most
of your time at college, and college towns tend to talk about issues that
would directly affect students on a college level."
Murbach said it is especially important for students
to vote locally this year because West Lafayette City Council president
and Purdue student Brad Windler, D—1st District, is running for Indiana
State Representative. Windler's district is composed primarily of students.
"Students have a chance this year to show their power
in the elections by voting in our district for a Purdue student," Murbach
said.
Mary Putsey, president of Purdue College Republicans,
agrees with Murbach. Putsey, a senior in the School of Management, said
that — as a whole — West Lafayette and Lafayette do not take
students seriously because they are not voting here.
"The main objective is that (students) vote period,"
said Putsey.
To register to vote locally, students need to mail
in registration forms found at the following locations: Personnel Services
Office, Freehafer Hall of Administrative Services; Bursar's Office, Hovde
Hall of Administration; Residence Hall Administration Office, Smalley
Center for Housing and Food Services Administration; Married Student Housing
Administration, MSHA Building; and Visitor Information Center, Northwestern
Avenue Parking Garage.
Students can also register to vote in other Indiana
counties using these forms.
Students who prefer to register to vote out of state
must obtain mail—in registration forms from the Tippecanoe County
Board of Registration on the ground floor of the courthouse, 301 Main
St., in Lafayette.
The registration deadline for the May 3 presidential
primary is April 3, and the registration deadline for the Nov. 11 general
election is Oct. 10.
Absentee ballots are used by voters who are not registered
locally. They are available 29 days before election.
Students who wish to vote in another Indiana county
must apply for absentee ballots at the Board of Registration Office. Students
from other states must apply for ballots through their own states.
Ramona Krueger, a Democrat member of the Tippecanoe
Board of Registration, said absentee ballots are convenient for students
who have busy schedules and feel like they don't have time to vote.
"We do want young people to vote, it needs to be
made easier," Krueger said.
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