2008 Woodie Awards
Voter registration open for November election
ELECTION 2008
BRITTANY COFER
Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: News
The 2008 Presidential election is one of the first opportunities to vote for many University students.
All eligible voters must register by Oct. 6 to be able to cast a ballot in November.
Athens-Clarke County Elections Assistant Cora Wright said first-time registrants should be mindful of the county in which they choose to register.
Where: At these addresses:
The Athens Regional Library, 2025 Baxter St.
Georgia State Patrol Office, 1505 Highway 29 N
Clarke County Board of Elections, 155 East Washington Street (downtown)
Secretary of State Office, 1104 West Tower, 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr., SE, Atlanta
Online: www.sos.state.ga.us/elections
"The resident address is the address you call home," Wright said. "You can use Athens if you are calling it home for the next three or four years."
For students already registered to vote, Wright said it is easy to change to Athens-Clarke County, but this changes their official state residential address.
"Sometimes for students their address plays an important role for them as a student when it comes to other aspects of their life," she said. "If you're already registered in another county, we will take that registration away from the county and you will be listed in Clarke."
But students who would like to register in their home county can still fill out paperwork in Athens. The Board of Elections office will forward that information to the correct county free of charge.
"I don't want anyone to feel like they have to register in Clarke just because they live here right now," Wright said. "If your intention is to move back home, you're still a resident of that county officially."
First-time voters registering through the mail must provide a copy of a driver's license or other form of identification.
Completed and signed applications should be mailed to the Secretary of State or the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections.
Students should expect to receive a precinct card within two to three weeks of submitting the application, according to the Georgia Secretary of State Web site. The precinct card will give the specific location where the voter will cast their ballot.
Registration is an integral part in becoming a voter, Wright said, and she said she hopes students "take it to heart and don't let it be just a one-time thing because of who is running."
"Let it be the love of the process altogether," she said. "It's an important event even if your candidate doesn't win. Hopefully younger people will feel the same way."
All eligible voters must register by Oct. 6 to be able to cast a ballot in November.
Athens-Clarke County Elections Assistant Cora Wright said first-time registrants should be mindful of the county in which they choose to register.
REGISTER TO VOTE
When: Now-Oct. 6Where: At these addresses:
The Athens Regional Library, 2025 Baxter St.
Georgia State Patrol Office, 1505 Highway 29 N
Clarke County Board of Elections, 155 East Washington Street (downtown)
Secretary of State Office, 1104 West Tower, 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr., SE, Atlanta
Online: www.sos.state.ga.us/elections
"The resident address is the address you call home," Wright said. "You can use Athens if you are calling it home for the next three or four years."
For students already registered to vote, Wright said it is easy to change to Athens-Clarke County, but this changes their official state residential address.
"Sometimes for students their address plays an important role for them as a student when it comes to other aspects of their life," she said. "If you're already registered in another county, we will take that registration away from the county and you will be listed in Clarke."
But students who would like to register in their home county can still fill out paperwork in Athens. The Board of Elections office will forward that information to the correct county free of charge.
"I don't want anyone to feel like they have to register in Clarke just because they live here right now," Wright said. "If your intention is to move back home, you're still a resident of that county officially."
First-time voters registering through the mail must provide a copy of a driver's license or other form of identification.
Completed and signed applications should be mailed to the Secretary of State or the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections.
Students should expect to receive a precinct card within two to three weeks of submitting the application, according to the Georgia Secretary of State Web site. The precinct card will give the specific location where the voter will cast their ballot.
Registration is an integral part in becoming a voter, Wright said, and she said she hopes students "take it to heart and don't let it be just a one-time thing because of who is running."
"Let it be the love of the process altogether," she said. "It's an important event even if your candidate doesn't win. Hopefully younger people will feel the same way."
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