College Park Municipal Elections Nov. 3, 2009!

Politics can make many weary.  People dedicate their careers to studying voting behavior (voter turn out included). In general, the more local the election, the less people come out to vote.  It seems like backward logic.  While national elections, or any election for that matter, are extremely important local elections more closely impact the individual.  The city in which you live in has greater control over what we experience during our day to day lives.

Sometimes people question whether their one vote matters, but how will you know if you don't try?  As a college student you might wonder if it even matters to you at all if you aren't staying here long term.  The decisions that the City Council makes affects us too.  Restaurants, recreation, parks, parking, traffic on Rt.1, housing - each of these is something that we deal with during our time in CP.  Once your a junior, and definitely by the time you're a senior, you will have to look for housing off campus if you aren't able or wish to commute. Some people don't plan on staying, but you never know what is going to happen or where you will end up in the next five or more years.

We recently experienced national elections and I think it's great that SGA and that the campus was able to mobilize by registering and encouraging students to vote.  In the classroom we talk about being a democratic society and the importance of voting, so let's put our talk into action.  If you can vote, I believe, that it is your civic duty to do so.  There are many people that are unable to vote and by voting you can speak for those people too.  By voting you are letting your voice be heard.  Your complaints and frustrations go no where if it's just between yourself, but you can be a part of creating a better community here and now.

CP City Council Elections will take place on Tuesday Novemeber 3, 2009 from 11a-8p (so plan ahead!).

Polling locations are as follows:

Districts 1 and 4 vote at Davis Hall, 9217 51st Avenue

Districts 2 and 3 vote at City Hall, 4500 Know Road

**Don't know what district your in? Not a problem! You can look it up by looking at the district map or the list by address.

For more information you can visit the elections page (includes information on how to vote with an absentee ballot).

You can also visit the Ciy of College Park website. (Last note: under current events there is a link to the City of College Park Strategic Plan Survey, which seeks input from the community about what is important to them.  This is definitely relevent to college students).

Get out to those polls!

Peace,

Sasha

Comments

[Tad]

great article on the elections! I think one of the really confusing things about CP City Elections is the fact that the campus is chopped into such odd districts - so defintely check to be sure you know what district you're in before heading out to vote!