Students can still registerto vote in Nov. 8 elections

By Claudia Curry

DeKalb County Clerk Terry Desmond said students should not forget the Oct. 3 voter registration deadline for fall elections.

“It’s not too late for students to register to vote or apply for an absentee ballot for the Nov. 8 General Election,” Desmond said. “However, too often students who are away at school forget to register to vote or just procrastinate and consequently become disenfranchised.”

There are two routes that students can take to be able to vote in DeKalb this November, Desmond said. “They can either register to vote in DeKalb, or, if they are registered at home, they can apply for an absentee ballot from their home district.”

If the student chooses to register to vote in DeKalb, the deadline for registration is Oct. 3. If the student is registered at home to vote, he or she may apply for an absentee ballot to vote in DeKalb during the next two weeks, he said.

There also is the option to cancel one’s registration at the home district and re-register in DeKalb, Desmond said.

He said that if a student chooses to apply for an absentee ballot, he should contact his home election authority as soon as possible and request an application.

DeKalb Mayor Greg Sparrow said, “I feel it is important for everybody to register to vote, student or non-student.

“It’s very important for people to exercise that right and we offer a great opportunity for involvement here in DeKalb where three out of seven wards are predominantly student-populated,” Sparrow said.

“You’ll find that most students are not, as of yet, registered at home or in DeKalb. I certainly encourage students to at least register to vote either at home or here,” he said.

Places for voter registration are all DeKalb area banks, the NIU Student Legal office, and the NIU Student Association office. Requirements for registration are two forms of identification, with one bearing a present address, Desmond said.

The College Republicans and Young Democrats also will be registering voters for the upcoming election, he said.

Tom Elkins, SA Voter Registration Committee chairman, said there will be voter registration tables on campus.