Election day is a little over a month away. For many Rowan University students, it’ll be their first time voting for the United States’ next president or their first time casting a ballot.
Voting is something that can seem complicated and nerve-wracking, especially for first time voters. To prepare students for the upcoming election, The Whit News Editors have compiled a list of resources to help make the process simpler for first-time voters.
Register to Vote:
Any U.S. citizen who is at least 18 years of age and fills their state’s residency requirements is eligible to vote in federal, state, and local elections.
The first step in order to be eligible to vote in November is to register before New Jersey’s Oct. 15 deadline. To do so, visit Vote.org to fill out an application.
Students with an official address that is out-of-state will need to keep in mind that their deadline for registration may be different.
Pennsylvania’s deadline is Oct. 21, Delaware’s is Oct. 12, and New York’s is Oct. 26. For information on deadlines for any other state, select your state on vote.gov.
Voting in Person
Students who have also lived at Rowan for at least thirty days can change their address to be eligible to vote in Glassboro.
According to the New Jersey Division of Elections, a person who is a resident of a county for at least thirty days before the election can change their address to vote in their new location. And don’t worry, the address can always be changed back.
To file an address change, visit the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission website.
Any student living on campus who would like to file a change of address to their on-campus residence should be warned that they should not use the campus mailbox as the residence address. While it can be put down as a mailing address, the residence address must be the actual address of the residence building itself.
Those wishing to vote in-person must visit their hometown’s designated polling place to cast their ballot. Information on polling place locations can be found by using a polling place locator.
For Glassboro, residents cast their ballots at Glassboro High School located on Joseph L. Bowe Boulevard.
Voting by Mail (Absentee Ballot)
For out-of-state or on-campus students, returning home to vote might not be an option. But, voting by mail is a convenient option to use in this situation.
To request an absentee ballot, visit Can I Vote and select your state from the drop-down menu to be redirected to each state’s early and absentee voting page.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 29. For those who do decide to vote by mail, the ballot must be received by Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. to be counted.
With election day right around the corner, being ready to vote is an important step citizens must keep in mind as November grows closer.
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