Hoos Vote: Getting Students Ready for Election Day

For today’s UVA Batten Hour, students with the Center for Politics “Hoos Vote” initiative presented on ways to vote on Election Day tomorrow. Third-year foreign affairs majors Ella Doddridge and Zoe Shook shared several key facts about voting. Importantly, out-of-state students CAN vote in Charlottesville tomorrow using only their student ID, Doddridge said.

“If someone’s being told they can’t vote with their student ID, let us know because that’s illegal.”

Other tips include: 

• If you plan to do “same-day registration” tomorrow at the polls, you will receive a provisional ballot, which allows election officials to verify your information to make sure your vote is counted.  “Nothing to worry about,” Doddridge explained. 
• To get to the polls, Hoos Vote has five pick-up spots for a “party bus” running from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow leaving from: O’hill dining hall; AFC; Shannon library; Central Grounds Parking Garage; and the Student Health/Bice/Bond area. Look for the Hoos Vote tables.
• Doddridge and Shook also reminded students of “volunteering do’s and “don’ts,” which include: DO ask fellow students if they’ve voted (and if not, tell them about the party bus); help them find their polling locations; make sure they have their student ID or some other form of accepted ID, and let folks know about same day registration. DON’T pressure people into voting. And remember, not everyone on Grounds can vote!.

This is Hoos Vote’s last event of the semester, but the CIO is gearing up for the Virginia governor’s primary and election next year. The goal is for UVA to be on-par with Ivy-league counterparts notching around 90% voter participation within the next five years.

Students interested in joining one of the six student-led committees can contact Ella at: spb2jt-@-virginia.edu.