The League of Women Voters of East Alabama will be continuing its Voter Registration and Information Drive in Ralph Brown Draughon Library next Tuesday, Sept. 22. The drive is open to all students, faculty, staff and other interested visitors. It aims to help them in registering for this year’s federal election, requesting absentee ballots or checking their registration status.
Elizabeth Devore, Ph.D. student in electrical engineering and a board member of the LWV of East Alabama, said the biggest intention behind the drive is accessibility to the college community, which includes some out-of-state students.
“If you haven’t voted absentee before, we’re there to help you,” Devore said. “If you just have some general questions or want a quick reminder about deadlines and dates, that’s what we’re there for. I was officially a Florida resident the entire time I did my undergraduate here, and so I always felt weird voting. I voted absentee, but I was voting for representatives where I wasn’t even living.”
Participants are asked to bring some form of ID if requesting an Alabama absentee ballot. This can include a state issued ID such as a driver’s license or even an Auburn University TigerCard, according to Devore.
The drive follows the approval of a polling location on campus during a Student Government Association senate meeting on Aug. 24 and is linked to the proposal, Devore said. Hannah Krawczyk, senior in political science and executive director of Auburn Justice Coalition, was a driving force behind the proposal and is also the LWV of East Alabama’s student liaison.
“There’s a lot of overlap with the University considering [the LWV is] mostly based out of the Auburn-Opelika area,” Devore said. “LWV actually has a program called ‘Vote 411’ that started in 2006 and that offers a lot. We have one of our board members who specifically oversees and helps with that. We’ll have some of those resources available for people ... as well as some of the stuff that SGA has prepared, so it’s very much a collaborative effort between [the] University and LWV.”
Masks are required to participate in accordance with the University’s “A Healthier U” COVID-19 guidelines, and volunteers will be separated from visitors with a table shield. Laptops will be provided for online registration form submission, according to Devore, and hand sanitizer and wet wipes will also be available for visitors.
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Tim Nail, junior in journalism, is the campus editor for The Auburn Plainsman.
