Time to vote in Lynchburg

Information on polling center locations for students and how to register in Virginia

College is a time of learning, growing and stepping into the next stage of life.

Primary — Students living on campus will vote in the Vines Center in March. Photo credit: Courtney Wheeler

Primary — Students living on campus will vote in the Vines Center in March. Photo credit: Courtney Wheeler

Liberty University students, as well as all college students in the state of Virginia, will have the opportunity to fulfill their responsibility of voting March 1.

“Students are moving on to complete adulthood, so (they need) to make sure to (vote) and show their civic responsibility,” Morgan Hanson, assistant director of programming at the Dean of Students Office, said.

During the March 1, 2016 election, students living in Ward III-2, which contains on-campus students at Liberty, will have the chance to vote in the presidential primary election at the Vines Center.
Hanson said the Dean of Students Office has been working in the recent weeks to make sure students are informed about the date of the upcoming election.

“We’ve done posters in the hallways, in the classrooms and on bulletin boards around campus,” Hanson said. “We have organized three voter registration drives — two in the Jerry Falwell Library and one in the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall. We passed out voter registration forms in the lines to Convocation — the many lines that we’ve had recently due to the Trump Convocation and Ben Carson’s Convocation.”

During the presidential primary, all polling centers will be open 6 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Hanson said a photo ID is needed to vote, for which a new Flames pass will work. The old Flames pass will not be sufficient identification. Hanson said bringing a voter registration card will help speed up the process at the polling center.

Though the deadline has passed for a student to register to vote in the presidential primary, if he or she was not registered before, Hanson said there is still an opportunity to get involved.

“They’re welcome to volunteer (March 1) if they want (and) if they can’t vote,” Hanson said. “They can call the Lynchburg Registrar and see how they can volunteer.”

Hanson also emphasized the necessity to get registered because there is a local election May 3, 2016 in which students can vote.

Hanson said when a student wants to vote, filling out paperwork takes less than five minutes. The paperwork is then sent to the Lynchburg Registrar’s Office within 10 days by law, then the information is processed.

“You should have your Virginia voter registration ID within a month (from) when you submit the form,” Hanson said.

Voter information is supposed to be revised each time a move is made, according to Hanson.

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“You are supposed to update your voter information every time you move, which technically does mean every time you move MSC boxes,” Hanson said.

In order to make the change, Hanson said students can come to the Dean of Students Office and fill out a voter registration form with the new and previous addresses, or the form can be filled out online at elections.virginia.gov/registration/view-your-info.

The Dean of Students Office encourages students to vote in Lynchburg because driving back and forth from home is a lengthy endeavor but also because the elected officials in Lynchburg are passing laws that affect college students.

“We really encourage students to register and vote here because it really makes a big difference and impacts their situation, as Liberty has influence and impact right here,” Dean of Students Robert Mullen said. “So for the City Council election coming up in May (students should be) registered to vote in that, and that directly impacts their pocketbook.”

Mullen also said that by voting, students show officials how important their opinion is.

“Some of the things that have just happened with the rezoning and some of the other … wins that Liberty has had have been the outcome of students being engaged, involved, registered and voting,” Mullen said. “It sends a message that you have to listen to students’ concerns.”

Off-campus Liberty students cannot vote at the Vines Center, but according to Hanson, they can find their polling location on their voter registration card. They can also search online at vote.elections.virginia.gov/voterinformation.

For on-campus students, their polling location is the Vines Center. Mullen said snacks will be available for all students outside the Vines Center on Election Day.

“There is no excuse for a student not to turn out on that day because it’s right there in their backyard for every on-campus student,” Mullen said.

Students who wish to register to vote in other upcoming Virginia elections can go to the Dean of Students Office at Green Hall 1830 or visit elections.virginia.gov/registration/how-to-registe/index.html.

Rodriguez is the news editor.

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