Volume CXXXIII, Number 15 February 20, 2004

Register to vote now

To the Editors:

This upcoming presidential and Congressional election will be one of the closest and most important in history. It is imperative that young people, who historically turn out in low numbers, vote. The first step is to get registered. One way is to register to vote in person at your hometown or county's election clerk's office. Also, it is usually possible to register by mail or online. We, as Bowdoin students, may register to vote in Maine (be careful, however, if you are from out of state: registering in Maine while receiving financial aid from your home state may render you ineligible to receive aid).

If you are already registered, the next step is to vote. If you are registered in a state other than Maine (or another Maine city or town), you may vote by absentee ballot. Again, applying for an absentee ballot in person is the simplest way, but you can almost always apply by mail or online. Information on absentee balloting can be found for all 50 states and the District of Columbia at www.absenteeballot.net, at individual states' Department of State or Elections websites at www.election.com or www.declareyourself.org.

Additionally, the Bowdoin Democrats will have a table in Smith Union several times this semester, beginning on February 26 in conjunction with the College Democrats of America's Get on Board campaign, and into early fall '04 with information on registering to vote and absentee balloting. Contact me at cticotsk@bowdoin.edu for information on any state's procedures or policies. Remember, you can't complain if you don't vote!

Sincerely,

Charlie Ticotsky '07

Bowdoin Democrats

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