Too often, young people think that their vote doesn’t matter – especially when it comes to primary elections.
Millenials are one of the largest voting blocks this year, and here at Her Campus DePaul we’re here to help you make your vote count in our community.
A little background information on voter registration: students, know that you can be registered in multiple places. So if you are from out-of-state at DePaul, regardless of whether you are registered there or not, you can still register in Illinois since you go to school and live here. However, you are only allowed one vote, so it depends where you want your vote to count—your home state or Chicago, Illinois!
If you are already registered:
If you are registered to vote in Illinois, the primary is on Tuesday, March 15th! Find your polling place (for any state) here.
If you are not registered:
Depending on what state you are from, your primary registration and the primary itself may have already passed. Absentee Ballot information, by state, can be found here.
Fear not, you can still vote in Illinois. Illinois has a grace period before their primary (March 15th), meaning you can vote and register all in one visit up until March 12th. Even if you’re an out-of-stater, you have a right to have your voice heard in Chicago!
Where to go: Lincoln Park Public Library – 1150 W Fullerton
When to go: 2/29-3/12 / Mon-Sat / 9am – 5pm
What to bring: 2 forms of ID. You can follow this helpful formula:
An ID (Student ID, Driver’s License, ID card, Credit/Debit Card, Insurance Card, etc.)
+
An official piece of mail (bank statement, bill, university mail, etc.) If you live in the dorms, your dorm address works!
Phew! However, the work is not done after registration.
After registering and before voting, check out what offices and candidates are on the ballot!
The presidential race is covered and capitalized on the most, making it the most entertaining. However, it is important to pay attention to whom you vote into office as your representatives at federal, state, and local government levels. These are the people that are actually making the laws and policies that you may or may not agree with that will affect your everyday life.
Head to this website and enter in the address that you registered with. It will have a break down of each office that will be on the ballot and information on each candidate running for those offices.
Take 5-10 minutes to make sure you are informed prior to voting. Political and community engagement is a beautiful thing, so once you’ve voted;
Celebrate with some waffles Leslie Knope style. ;)
For more information, check out an awesome resource on campus—Impact DePaul.
“We strive to ignite the political passion in young people to take back their future.”