On Nov. 4, American voters will be lining up at the polls to decide the future of their community.
According to Craig Berger, civic and community center director, Ohio residents, in particular, will be casting their ballots for the positions that directly affect their everyday lives.
In the city of Kent, students and residents will determine the next mayor of Kent. Portage County also has the position of municipal court judge up for grabs. Berger emphasized the impact that the city council will have on the community.
“When you look at Kent in particular, they have three at-large council positions. The city council went through a transformation already in the last few elections. I think there’s the potential for a lot of turnover on the city council, and I think that will have an impact just in terms of discussions around what housing looks like and what zoning looks like,” Berger said.
In addition to the city council, Berger discussed a few key issues that will be voted on in the upcoming election.
Most of these issues stem from the city’s charter and how it can be modernized to reflect the current Kent community. A city charter is a legal document that establishes the local government and its structure in the community.
Some of the propositions on the ballot include changing the wording of disability to “inability to perform,” fixing the charter preamble, changing ward lines on council limits, adding a provision preventing a removed official to be appointed a year after removal and changing the charter review committee process.
According to an article about civic engagement from Pew Research, Americans have more interest in the rules and laws that are enacted in their communities than in elections that determine who makes the laws.
In short, local civic engagement struggles in comparison to national civic engagement.
However, according to Barbara Hipsman Springer, a campus liaison with the League of Women Voters of Kent’s election committee, student civic participation on the local level has the potential to shape their community for the better.
“Local city council decides the noise ordinance, traffic flow. I mean, so much of the actions of the police department are controlled, kind of by the city council,” Hipsman Springer said. “If you live here nine months of the year, or you’re here all the time, it is important to think of locals, as well, and how you can get involved and also how you can understand what it is that they’re doing.”
The League of Women Voters is a national nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that focuses on civic education and advocacy for eligible voters.
The league also provides a fact sheet that lists all important races and candidates for the upcoming election. The sheet can be viewed on the official League of Women Voters website.
Rick Skains, Undergraduate Student Government’s director of governmental affairs and sophomore economics major, also shared advice and resources for eligible student voters this election season.
Similar to Hipsman Springer, he emphasized the importance of voting in the upcoming election and encouraged students to vote.
“One of the things that a lot of students don’t necessarily take into account is they look at these elections, and they’re like, ‘Oh, well, we’re not voting for a president. We’re not voting for anyone at the top of the food chain,’” Skains said. “People don’t take into account that a lot of what our daily lives are controlled by are the people who are at the local levels of government.”
According to Skains, the most important thing a student can do before casting their ballot is to make sure ample research is done before choosing a candidate to support. He also said what makes local elections so unique is how the candidates are everyday people.
“These are the people that are actually in your community, like you’d most likely see them at the store, or at the mall, wherever you might be,” Skains said. “You’ve actually seen these people, and they’re the ones making a difference within your community.”
Students who are eligible to vote in the upcoming election should remember that polls will open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
If a student chooses to submit an absentee ballot, it must be received by Portage County’s Board of Elections by 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 4.
Students should make sure they carry a valid form of identification as well. This can be a driver’s license, state ID, U.S. passport and more.
Students who live full-time on campus are assigned to either of the following polling locations: Kent State Recreation and Wellness Center or United Methodist Church and Christian Life Center.
Students unsure about which polling location to go to can check the official Kent State Votes, which has listed the polling locations in correlation to the students’ living arrangements.
For example, students in Tri-Tower dormitories are assigned this year to vote at the Kent State Recreation and Wellness Center, and those living in Centennial Court will vote at the Christian Life Center.
Students who are registered to vote somewhere else in Ohio besides Kent can still participate in the Portage County elections.
They should continue to go to the polling place that correlates with their Kent address and present a valid form of Ohio ID. Out-of-county registration addresses should explain that they would like to move their registration status to Kent and vote provisionally.
However, this situation only applies to students registered to vote in Ohio. Students living out of state are unable to vote in an Ohio election.
“If you choose to vote on Election Day, show up early, you most likely won’t have to stand in line if you arrive early, and if you’re confused, ask for help. There’s poll workers there to answer all the questions you might have,” Skains said.
Ava Dunn is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].