Virginia is for voters
The Dean of Students Office at Liberty University is encouraging students to get out and vote in the upcoming midterm elections Tuesday, Nov. 6, but to do so, they must register before Oct. 12.
Morgan Hanson, an associate director with the Dean of Students Office, said the university has made registering easier than in previous years.
Instead of paper forms handed out in classrooms, voter registration forms can now be filled out digitally through liberty.edu/votenow.
The digital form preloads information from students’ secure Liberty accounts, including their Social Security Numbers, Liberty addresses, etc. Students just need to verify the information, print the form and turn it into the Dean’s Office in Green Hall 1880 within one business day of completion.
“We showed (our online registration) to (the) Lynchburg city registrar, and they were in love with it,” Hanson said. “They would love if other colleges did this as well.”
Links to the online voter registration forms will be emailed to students in the coming weeks. However, Hanson hopes that by the presidential election in 2020, Liberty will make voter registration forms accessible through the Liberty Today app.
Alaska students should not register to vote in Virginia, so they will not lose a tax benefit, unique to them and their home state.
Hanson believes it is important for students to register locally and help shape their community.
“We try to remind students that this is their home,” Hanson said. “It’s important to have a say where you’re at locally.”
The new changes come alongside a partnership with the Campus Vote Project, a branch of the national non-profit Fair Election Center, an organization which utilizes pro bono lawyers who strive toward closing the gap of inactive voters.
This push comes from an effort from Liberty administration to make Liberty University a “Voter Friendly Campus,” a classification that recognizes schools with set plans to engage students in the voting process.
Out-of-state students should also note that once registered to vote in Virginia, they cannot participate in their home state elections. There is no limit on how often one can change their registration, but it is a felony to be registered to vote in two different states.
“That’s double dipping,” Hanson said. “You can’t do that.”
Hanson said the Dean of Students Office is requesting that students have their forms filled out and turned in by Oct. 12.
Tim Murcek, president of the College Republicans club on campus, is also encouraging students to register for the upcoming election.
“If students aren’t from swing states, I also advise them to change their registration to Virginia,” Murcek said. “Their voice has more of a say here.”
Murcek’s club is active on campus in its campaign efforts for Republican Party candidates as well as in its promotion of students’ rights to vote and bring change to their community.
“Where you spend your time, wherever you call home … (you should) make a difference there,” Murcek said.
Murcek is also looking to create new incentives to increase voter turnout. In this past year’s Gubernatorial race, roughly 1,500 of 5,000 registered students voted.
“It’s a very, very apathetic voter turnout we have here,” Murcek said.
Murcek has proposed allowing a class skip for students who vote, but the idea is still pending administrative approval.
“If you’re really calling Virginia your home, and you’re planning on living here for the next four years, I highly encourage students who feel at home here, to vote here,” Murcek said. “Because it’s going to make a difference for you.”
For students interested in learning more about voter registration, the Office of Student Life will participate in the upcoming LU Health Fair Sept. 25, which happens to be National Voter Registration Day.
“Anyone is welcome to vote,” Hanson said. “We just want you to vote and exercise your constitutional rights.”
To register, students can use the online form at liberty.edu/votenow and turn it in to the Green Hall 1880 within 24 hours of completion.