Ava Thoman: Welcome to the Community Corner, where we talk about interesting topics with people in the Bowling Green community.  I’m Ava Thoman.  Today, we’re discussing the entire voting process with Amelia Alexander, the Marvin Center student coordinator who helps run BGSU Votes.  Thanks for joining me.

Amelia Alexander: Thank you.

Thoman: First off, what is BGSU Votes?

Alexander: BGSU Votes is a nonpartisan student-led initiative, focused on increasing political and voter engagement on campus.

Thoman: Okay and then what preparations should students do before voting?

Alexander: They should make sure that they’re registered to vote so they can check their voter registration status.  They can come into the Marvin Center, which is in University Hall, Room 100 and they can ask any questions they have about the voting process and they should probably look up what’s on their ballot because that varies based on where you’re registered to vote.  And, they can also look into other ways things that are going on in their community in general.

Thoman: Okay and then speaking of voter registration, that date has already passed for the November 5, election, November 4, sorry.  How can students be more prepared for next time?

Alexander: Well, one thing I like to say is if they miss this deadline, they should get ahead of it before the next one.  So, registering to vote now is always a good option.  And, making sure that your voter registration is up to date with your address is very important.  Also, students can, if they are registered to vote and everything’s working properly, today is the last day to request an absentee ballot, October 28.  So, if they already have done that, then they should probably start filling out that application, the absentee ballot.  And, if not, then they can vote early, which early voting is pretty much up until the election.  Ours vary based on the board of elections.  And, other than that, they can get ready to vote on election day.

Thoman: And, then speaking about these other options of how to vote especially for students who may live on campus, but are from somewhere else, how can they make sure to vote?

Alexander: Absentee voting is a really good option.  Absentee voting is just voting by mail.  So, they request an absentee ballot, then it gets mailed to the address that they put on the application process and then they fill out the ballot as they would a regular ballot and then they mail it in.  You can also hand it in physically to the board of elections.  So, if you forget to mail or get really confused, you can also drop it off like that.  And then, there’s early voting.  So, the hours vary based on the board of elections, so that’s something that students should look up for their address.  And, they usually have weekend hours.  So, this weekend I plan on going home to vote.  I’m really excited and I also want to note that this is a general election.  So, all things local right now.

Thoman: Okay, great.  And then, to wrap things up, why is it important that students go out and vote?

Alexander: It’s important to vote because so many people fought for this right before you and your voice matters.  And, students, you know our opinions can shape the agenda of politicians and you know, if students really want to make a difference in their community, one of the main things that they can do is vote.

Thoman: Alright, well thank you so much for joining me and that’s all for Community Corner, back to Emma in the newsroom.