More than 30 Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) students can now cast their first ballots in Indiana’s midterm elections this November, after registering to vote during Thursday’s Constitution Day voter registration drive on campus.
“I’m on a time crunch today, but I know voting is important and it took me less than three minutes to register, so I’m glad I stopped by the table,” said Darius Hill, a junior sport management major from Vincennes, Ind.
SMWC’s Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences and Student Senate, in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Vigo County, sponsored the two-hour voter registration drive at two campus locations – Les Bois patio and Woods Student Center in Rooney Center.
“I knew this was something I needed to do because voting is important, so I put it on my calendar to come by today,” said SaraGrace Toney, a senior biology major from Greenwood, Ind.
Constitution Day is a federal observance of Sept. 17, 1787, when 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document in Philadelphia. In 2004, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that mandates all publicly funded federal agencies and educational institutions, including private colleges, to provide educational programming on the history of the Constitution. The day was first celebrated in 2005.
September is also National Voter Registration Month, making the Constitution Day event a prime time for students to sign up.
“I think it is so important for our students to have an understanding of the basic document that sets the structure and processes for our entire government,” said Glenna Simons, JD, associate professor and chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Several SMWC students, including junior Gabbi Fisko, of Phoenix, joined the effort to help students register to vote.
“It is important for students, not just at SMWC, but at colleges around the United States, to recognize how important one vote can be. Voting gives us a voice as the young future leaders of society,” Fisko said. “This is especially helpful for students who are not from Indiana and didn’t get the chance to register before attending college. Students need to understand the importance of their vote. We are the future of this country, and we’re blessed that we can vote.”
Indiana law requires voters to register at their permanent residence, so college students can claim either the address they traveled from to attend school or the community where they attend school as their permanent residence.
Anyone planning to vote in Indiana’s Nov. 5 election must register by Oct. 5. To register to vote in Indiana, a person must:
- have a valid Indiana driver’s license or Indiana State Identification Card
- be a U.S. citizen
- be at least 18 years old on or before the next general, municipal or special election (a 17-year-old may register and vote in the primary election if the voter turns 18 on or before the next general or municipal election)
- have lived in their precinct for at least 30 days before the next general, municipal or special election
- not currently imprisoned after being convicted of a crime