By Juliana Vasquez | Staff Writer
The excitement of the midterm elections is slowly rising, and in order to vote in an election, students must be registered. For busy college students, however, sometimes this is easier said than done.
Texas law requires voters to register by the 20th day before Election Day, with the deadline to vote in the upcoming primary elections being Feb. 2, according to Vote Texas.
McLennan County Elections Administrator Jared Goldsmith said this process isn’t as simple as just filling in a registration guide online. In fact, Texas requires a physical signature to be registered to vote.
“In Texas, you have to sign a physical voter registration application,” Goldsmith said. “You can get one here in our office, libraries, post offices typically have one too … you cannot register to vote completely online.”
As students move around, whether it’s as a first-year who moved from their hometown to Waco or an upperclassman who moved from dorms to apartments or houses, they must remember to update their place of residence.
“If they haven’t updated it by the time they go vote, that won’t disqualify them from voting,” Goldsmith said. “There is a form that they will fill out at the polling place called a statement of residence form.”
Students who aren’t from Waco have the option to either update their residence, travel home to vote or request a ballot by mail by contacting their home county’s election office, Goldsmith said.
Waco senior and College Democrats of Baylor President JW LaStrape encouraged students to register to vote in Waco.
“Students are a part of the community here,” LaStrape said. “The laws and stuff that happens here affect us too.”
If students forget to change their address and miss the deadline to request a ballot by mail, there is the option of requesting a limited ballot, though Goldsmith doesn’t recommend it.
“I highly suggest not going that route, because you’re not going to be able to vote much on that ballot,” Goldsmith said. “You might be able to vote for anything that’s statewide, but it’s not going to include anything local to you.”
For first-time voters, Goldsmith advises them to have a plan before going to cast their ballot.
“Do your research; there’s tons of information online,” Goldsmith said. “Get your plan together; do your research. That’s going to be the biggest thing you need.”
College Station junior and President of the College Republicans at Baylor Lindsay Flanigan encourages students to go out to vote in the upcoming election.
“I think it’s really important for us to step into the political atmosphere, get some knowledge about what’s going on in the local, state and national stages,” Flanigan said. “I really would encourage students to turn their convictions into a vote that can actually have an impact in the real world.”
Election information for McLennan County can be found at mclennanvotes.com. The deadline to register to vote is Feb. 2. Early voting for the primary elections begins Feb. 17 and election day is March 3.
