Register to vote on campus

To get students ready for election season, the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement (SLCE) and the NSU American Association of University Women will help Sharks register to vote on Sep. 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the UC Spine and Oct. 4 from 11:30 to 1 p.m. at the library circle. SLCE will also host presidential debate watch parties Sep. 26, Oct. 4 and Oct. 9 at the Flight Deck.

The deadline to register for the presidential election is Oct. 11.

Students will need to bring a valid photo ID in order to register. Representatives from the Broward County Supervisor of Elections will be present to help with the registration process.

Stephanie Schoeder, graduate assistant for student leadership and civic engagement, said that voting is an important right and essential to civic engagement.

“Even if the candidate you wanted to win doesn’t win, you can still say that you went and had your voice heard that day,” she said.

Students already registered to vote in their home state or in another Florida county can request an absentee ballot. NSU students who register to vote on campus but will not be able to find transportation to a polling location can request a mail-in ballot.

According to Riley Houlihan, freshman political science major, voting is a civic duty.

“If you have the ability to vote, it is your responsibility to vote,” he said. “If you don’t vote, if you don’t voice your opinion, you really have no right to complain about the outcome.”

Houlihan said the 2016 election is historical because it’s the closest the U.S. has come to having either a female president or a non-military president without political experience. He said he’ll be watching the debates.

“Debates are a great conversation starter,” he said. “But they don’t give you the full information so you can make an informed decision about a candidate. You need to look at track records. People should get a non-media-informed opinion.”

Schoeder said that although voters often wonder whether their vote matters, in her home state of Wisconsin, the vote is usually close.

“When you’re looking at millions of people voting for two people, your vote may not seem like it matters,” Schoeder said. “But in some states, the vote can become very close. It may be a difference of a thousand, but that’s actually pretty small when you consider how many people are voting.”

Houlihan said that students need to get informed about what each candidate stands for and what they can actually accomplish as president.

“Focus on yourself and who you want to represent you,” he said.

Infographic: Registration and Debate Events

Sep. 22

Voter registration from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the UC Spine

Sep. 26

Presidential debate watch party at the Flight Deck

Oct. 4

Voter registration from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Alvin Sherman Library Circle

Presidential debate watch party at the Flight Deck

Oct. 9

Presidential debate watch party at the Flight Deck

Oct. 11

Voter registration deadline

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