Historically, voter turnout falls during midterm elections – those in which the president is not on the ballot – but these elections are just as important despite their lack of attention. This is especially true among 18-29 year-olds, making young people one of the most under-represented groups during midterm elections. The fact that young voters turn out the least to vote during midterms has spurred community leaders into action. Former President Barack Obama spoke out at the University of Illinois telling students the only way to change the current situation in our government is to get out and vote. Obama called them to action by saying, “You need to vote because our democracy depends on it”.

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The election coming on November 6th has every seat in the House of Representatives on the ballot, 33 seats in the Senate (including Pennsylvania incumbent Bob Casey), 36 Governors including Pennsylvania incumbent Tom Wolf, along with several state representatives and senators.

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The rules and processes for voter registration vary by state, but in Pennsylvania registering to vote is possible by submitting a form online, by mail, or in person at a local election office. A visit to the vote.gov website allows citizens to verify if their state allows online registration and redirects to the state voter registration information page. However, if students want to vote locally, Pennsylvania allows residents of at least 30 days to vote in elections, so all Behrend students will be eligible to vote by the end of September. This leaves a narrow window between the first day of eligibility – roughly September 20th for most Behrend students – and the October 9th deadline to register to vote for the 2018 election.

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Voters who have previously registered do not need to register again except in the case of a name change, address change, or to register a change of party. Therefore, students who have previously registered to vote at home, but wish to do so locally in Erie should submit a new registration. Alternatively, those who wish to vote in their home district should submit a request for an absentee ballot they can mail in to have their votes recorded. Whether to vote locally or by absentee ballot is a personal choice, but some factors to consider include the closeness of the elections or districts, how well the candidates or platforms resonate with the voter, and the convenience of voting in person or by mail.

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This week the College Democrats and College Republicans have collaborated to arrange in-person voter registration table. The groups can be found next to the Paw’s Café in the Reed Union Building. The tables are set up to give students easy access to registration papers along with accessible assistance in filling out the form for students who may have questions. Together the groups hope to boost numbers in the amount of young people that vote during the upcoming midterm election.