Introduction
This year, citizens of New York State have a new opportunity to cast their vote prior to the official Election Day. For two preceding weekends and a full week in between, voters can visit any one of a number of designated early voting locations in their county, and vote.
Bard College’s club Election@Bard is helping to spread information on this new process and continues to actively register voters on and off-campus.
In New York State, You Can Vote Before Election Day
The most critical and valued asset of a democracy is the citizens’ ability to effect change through the voting process.
This year, citizens of New York State have a new opportunity to cast their votes prior to the official Election Day (November 5th). For two preceding weekends and a full week in between, voters can visit any one of a number of designated early voting locations in their county, and vote.
Dutchess County has five such locations, and Ulster County has seven. Check with your county’s Board of Elections website for the sites and times. (The times vary for each of the nine specified days October 26 through November 3rd.) You can vote early anywhere in your county, regardless of where you live.
Come Election Day, you may vote only at your designated polling place
Election@Bard
Election@Bard is a non-partisan, student-led initiative, run in conjunction with Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement (of which LLI is a part). According to Director Jonathan Becker, CCE is “An Ecosystem of Engagement.”
The student leader of Election@Bard is Ava Mazzye, a senior this year. For three years now, she’s been very active in registering voters, scheduling candidate forums, and mobilizing students in voter activities. The accomplishments of Ava and her team are many, and earlier this year she was awarded the prestigious Andrew Goodman Foundation Hidden Heroes Award.
This award is given yearly to five distinguished student activists, out of approximately 100 applicants throughout the country. Andrew Goodman, along with two others, was murdered by the KKK in Mississippi in 1964 for his activism in registering black voters. He was 21 years old at the time. Goodman’s parents set up the foundation to encourage other youth activists.
An Ongoing Issue
Election@Bard has long petitioned for the polling place in their local district to be switched from St John’s Episcopal Church in Barrytown to their campus center building. While it remains an aspiration, it appears that the change could not take effect until statewide legislation might weigh in on the matter.
Deputy Director for CCE, Erin Canaan, expressed her enthusiasm for Election@Bard to us. She applauds the student-run operation, which operates independently, yet confers with CCE leadership on a regular basis.
Erin underscored the importance of getting students registered to vote as soon as they walk through the door at Bard. She states that it’s a proven fact that the sooner an individual is introduced to the voting process, the more likely that person will be to continue as a lifetime voter.
Engagement is key. And that’s what CCE is all about.
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