This past week, the Piedmont College student body voted for their new Student Government Association representatives. In addition to the representatives elected during the spring semester, junior Julia Sandoval and freshmen Taylor Hopkins and Lauren Passmore were voted in as senators representing their respective classes, and Jennifer Sabolsky became the club liaison and ambassador. The theme of this year’s Student Government is outside student involvement.
“We want students to realize the impact we have on this campus and how your elected officials play a true role in altering campus life every single day,” SGA President Kanler Cumbass said. “My goal is to show support for all of our student populations.”
On Constitution Day, Monday, Sept. 17, the SGA will hold a voter registration drive starting at 11 am at the Student Commons Welcome Desk. During the drive, students can learn more about the U.S. Constitution and register to vote in time for the November midterm elections. But students should know that the voter registration forms used in Georgia contain misleading information.
Federal election law states that first-time voters do not need to verify their names and addresses in order to register to vote. This means that you do not need to present a photo I.D. until you go to cast your first ballot. But Georgia has been using forms with the inaccurate requirement since 2004.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia objected to the misleading forms in February of this year in an open letter to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who is running in the November gubernatorial race against Democrat Stacey Abrams. The online form was updated last month, but corrected paper applications won’t be available until after the Oct. 9 registration deadline.
If students are unsure if they are registered voters, or if they have not voted in a while, they should check their voter registration to ensure they have not been removed from voter rolls. Even if someone has been registered in the past and voted in the primaries in May, they are encouraged to check their registration status at https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/.
Students who live on campus can register to vote in Habersham County, or if they are already registered in their home counties they can still apply for an absentee ballot. These must be received by the Friday before election day. The voter registration deadline is October 9.
