With the Secretary of State voter registration van coming to NMU next week, students will have the opportunity to register to vote without ever leaving campus.
Due to the election year, voter turnout is expected to be high, Dave Dodds, manager of the voter registration van, said.
“Voter turnout fluctuates each year from 100-400 people per visit,” Dodds said. “On voter registration, we do notice a substantial increase in a national election.”
The presidential election is looming nearer and nearer, so it is more important than ever for students to vote and have their voice heard, ASNMU President Hobie Webster said.
“Students have a lot at risk: Health care costs are exploding, there are two wars going on, the economy’s in shambles, education costs are exploding, we’re graduating with enormous debt and the housing market is crumbling,” Webster said. “I’m not going to try to push one way or the other, but those are the issues that at most in four years students are going to have to start dealing with.”
Webster also noted the importance of students doing their research and knowing what a candidate stands for before voting.
“[You] need to get involved,” Webster said. “You never know what can happen in this world.It’s not enough to sit and wear a T-shirt or put a bumper sticker on your laptop.”
Just supporting a candidate and wishing and hoping they will win doesn’t make them win, Webster said.
“If you don’t actually show up to the poll, you’re not doing anything about it. That’s something students need to remember,” Webster added.
The voter registration van will be on campus next Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in front of the LRC.
This is the third time the voter registration van has come to Northern. The first trip here was in 2004, Dodds said.
“Every other year we do our university voter registration tour; this was started six years ago,” Dodds said. “This is the first year we will visit every university in Michigan.”
The Secretary of State Voter Registration Van does more than just allow students to vote; it serves as a full secretary of state office, Dodds said.
At the voter registration van, students hoping to register to vote will need to bring with them a Michigan drivers license or government ID card. They will be asked to fill out a one-page form to complete the registration.
