Pro-voting student organizations like Rock the Vote and Project Democracy are teaming up with the St. Louis Voting Rights Commission in order to ease the voting process on Nov. 2 for Washington University students.
Two polling places will be available for students living on campus based on where they live. Students on the South 40 will vote at Wydown Middle School, and students living in Small Group Housing or Millbrook will vote at Lady of the Lourdes, which is located just south of Forsyth. Students living off campus will vote at one of a number of different locations. (See end of article for more information.)
Josh Gantz, the University coordinator for Rock the Vote, said there would be shuttles running to and from both sites from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
With 20-25 volunteers aiding the voting process, Rock the Vote plans to eliminate any possibilities for confusion over where to vote.
“I will be standing at the polls all day long to make sure any Wash U student will be able to vote, and if there are any problems I’ll be able to take care of it,” said Gantz.
Student Union President David Ader has also been involved in preparing transportation services for students.
“It’s such an important issue that affects the entire community,” he said. “I want to do anything I can to help.”
Rock the Vote and Student Union hope to notify all students about polling places by this weekend. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., which Ader said should give students enough time to fit voting into their class schedules.
Senior Teresa Sullivan, president of Project Democracy, said that the organization is going to dorms on the South 40 and calling students who completed issue surveys to let them know where to vote.
Information is also being gathered for students living off campus.
“We’ll be going on Sunday to canvass those apartments and put up fliers to let them know where to vote,” said Sullivan.
Fliers with additional details are being posted throughout campus, and information will be available in Mallinckrodt on Monday.
While Sullivan said the focus of Project Democracy is remaining on campus, other groups, such as the League of Pissed off Voters, are concentrating on students off campus.
“We don’t have a specific concern about off campus voters, but of course we want to include them,” said Sullivan. “As they have lived in Missouri longer we’re assuming they have more access to this kind of information.”
The St. Louis County Board of Elections says on its Web site that all citizens registered to vote in Missouri should have received informational cards about their voting locations during the past week.
Volunteers will be around campus all day Nov. 2, reminding people to vote and telling them where to go, said Sullivan.
Although students have expressed interest in using the shuttle, many would have liked to know about voting further in advance.
“Maybe people didn’t register because they didn’t know if they would have a way of getting to the polls,” sophomore Katharine Howard said.
Senior Amy Liskow still thinks that providing transportation to students without cars will increase the number of student voters, especially freshman.
“For the majority of students on campus it is their first time voting, and I’m sure many of them are not going to be sure what to do,” said Liskow.
While Gantz will have to wait and see how many students are present at the polls, he expects voter turn out to be high.
“People understand the importance of voting in this election. I don’t think classes will be a problem,” Gantz said.
Where to vote:
South 40
Wydown Middle School
6500 Wydown Blvd.
University Drive
Trinity Presbyterian Church
6800 Washington Ave.
Forsyth, Millbrook, the Village
Our Lady of Lourdes School
7157 Northmoor Dr.
Waterman and Rosedale
St. Rochs Middle School
6040 Waterman Blvd.
Skinker
Missouri History Museum Library
225 S. Skinker Blvd.
U. City, west of Trinity
Center of Creative Arts
524 Trinity Ave.