With the 2012 Presidential Election on Nov. 6 and the deadline to register to vote Oct. 8, SGA and ADPi hosted a student voter registration forum on Oct. 3 to encourage students to register to vote.
Barbara Castleman, the Administrator of Elections for Weakley County, was the guest speaker. She gave important information on how to vote, what is required when registering to vote and what to bring on voting day.
One thing she wants students to think about was where they want to vote.
āSeriously consider where you want to vote. If you register to vote here in Weakley County, then you cannot go back to your home county to vote,ā Castleman said,
If a student is already registered in their home county, they can only vote in their home county. However, if students wish to vote here in Weakley County, they may do so but they must write on the voter registration form where they were registered to vote in the past so their last voter registration can be taken out of the last voting location and sent to Weakley County.
Another element of importance Castleman repeated throughout the forum was to bring the voter card to vote. The voter card is what the county will send via mail to the registered students so their voting process will be smooth and stress-free for early voting or Election Day.
āThe voter card is essential to bring on voting day because it avoids confusion and conflicts. Hold on to that voter card,ā said Castleman.
In order to register and vote on Election Day, a photo ID and voter card must be present. A college student ID is not valid identification.
Students who are registered to vote in their home counties but cannot make it home to vote can vote absentee if they have voted at least once in the past. Voting absentee means sending the vote via mail. However, the voters must register and identify themselves either at an Election Commission Office or at a National Voter Registration Agency such as the Department of Safety, Department of Human Services or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The deadline for absentee voting is Oct. 30.
Early voting begins Oct. 17 through Nov. 1. The hours for early voting in Tennessee are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Oct. 20 and 27. The hours to vote on Election Day (Nov. 6) in Weakley County are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information on voting and registration, visit www.GoVoteTN.comĀ or call 1-877-850-4959.
