With elections less than 21 days away, most students are gearing up to vote in their first presidential election. However, the process of registering to vote can seem daunting, especially for students opting to vote back in their home states, according to freshman Madeline Dolan, who is planning on voting in New Jersey.
“It was a complicated process,” Dolan said. “I ended up just having my mom send me my ballot, then mailing it back to her.”
Photo from elon.turbovote.org.
Elon Votes, an organization on campus geared toward students political involvement, has been helping students register to vote in the upcoming election across campus. Although a lot of resources have been focused on students voting locally, it has also offered directions to those looking to cast votes outside of North Carolina. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 29.
To help with guiding these voters, Elon Votes advises students to look at TurboVote, a nonprofit and nonpartisan website put out by Democracy Works.
Elon uses this site in order to provide a voting resource for students.
Photo from elon.turbovote.org.
When first opening the website, a count down to the election will appear. Below are three options; students looking to vote out of state should select the option “Request A Ballot To Vote By Mail.” Students will then be asked to type in an address or select a home state. The website will then direct you to a commonly asked question page. If the student has not yet registered the vote, here is where they will be able to do so.
To get a ballot by mail, students who are already registered should select the button “Get ready to vote.” This will lead them to yet again another page where students can request an absentee ballot from their secretary of state's office.