Students who don't get their voter registration forms in the mail by Tuesday will be left without a voice in this year's general election. As the post office is closed on Monday for Columbus Day, that leaves today, Saturday and Tuesday to get forms postmarked.
Local, state and federal offices are all up for election, and the people who win will be making decisions that affect lives on all three levels.
In Indiana, some of the most exciting races are going to be in the Indiana House of Representatives, Brian Hollis, Ball State University College Republicans adviser said.
"The [Indiana] House of Representatives is where the action is," Hollis said. "The republicans have a small majority; there is a tremendous amount of pressure on both sides to get out and vote and have success."
Hollis said he would like to see more students voting, and the exciting races and controversial issues may help pique students' interest.
The University Democrats held voter registration days at the Scramble Light and other locations on campus during the past month. Jacob Clere, University Democrats president, said the organization, as of Thursday afternoon, registered about 80 people.
"At least if students are registered, they have the option of voting on Election Day," he said. "It doesn't hurt to register."
The Student Government Association intended to hold a voter registration event, but because Ball State is participating in a study from the Indiana University-South Bend, the group decided not to. The study is designed to measure the effectiveness of different presentation methods, including e-mails, class presentations and campus mail. Aimee Ash, associate director for the Office of Student Life, said representatives from Student Life visited about 60 classes during the past three weeks as part of a voter registration push.
Clere said the voting process is probably the most complex for students, and he gets some of the same questions over and over.
"'Where do I have to register?'" Clere said. "'Can I register at home or here at school?'"
Problems occur when students procrastinate, he said. Low turnout numbers for college students aren't just because students are apathetic, but also because the process isn't conducive to helping students vote, he said.
College students are able to use their school addresses in order to register to vote, however, people can only register for one address. Because many college students spend most of their year in their college city or town, they choose to register to vote in those places because they are strongly affected by the local issues.
People can register to vote in person at a County Voter Registration Office, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles or a Public Assistance Office. People can also mail in a registration form, which can be downloaded from the Internet or picked up at a variety of locations including government offices, schools and libraries.
The Office of Student Life Web site has a link to Rock the Vote, a national voter registration campaign. No matter which method people choose, voter registration applications must be postmarked by Oct. 10, which is 29 days before the election.
The application must be sent to the Voter Registration Office:
100 W. Main St. Room 200Muncie, Ind., 47305.
If students don't want to vote in their college area or are not going to be able to vote on Nov. 7, they may choose to fill out an absentee ballot after registering. Reasons for voting by absentee ballot include having a specific, reasonable expectation for being away from your county, being disabled, being over 65 years of age or being scheduled to work during the entire time the polls are open, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
To obtain an absentee ballot, a voter must send a Federal Post Card Application, also known as an absentee ballot application, to the city clerk's office by Oct. 29, eight days before the election. An online version of the application can be found at the Federal Voting Assistance Program's Web site.
Even if found online, the application must be printed out, signed and sent by mail to the local election office by Oct. 29. For Ball State students, absentee ballot applications should be sent to the Delaware County Circuit Court Clerk at:
100 W. Main St.Muncie, Ind. 47305
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