|
|
|
 |
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
Posted on 10/07/2003 6:31:52 PM PDT by BJungNan
The final tally in today's recall election may not include the would-be votes of many students on the CSU-Monterey Bay campus. That's because there is no polling place there today, something that comes as a surprise to some students.
The campus was one of 100 precincts that was either consolidated with other polling places or eliminated for today's vote as a cost-cutting measure by the county. During normal elections, ballots are cast at 191 polling places throughout the county. Today, voting will take place at 91 sites.
At CSUMB, campus residents registered to vote were automatically sent absentee ballots, but those who ignored them as junk mail and planned to show up at the regular campus polling place today will find it closed.
Stephen Reed, CSUMB's associate vice president for community relations, said it is a problem he anticipated and tried to avert. Anecdotal evidence, however, is showing the effort did not succeed in all cases.
Reed put out a notice to residential students and staff on Thursday reminding them that it was the last day to mail absentee ballots. Since then, he said, he's heard from several students that they either ignored and lost their ballots or threw them out, figuring they would vote at the campus polling spot.
"Some of them didn't read (the ballot packet sent by the county)," he said. "The key for us was to make everyone aware that wasn't junk mail the county sent you, it was VBM (vote by mail).
"After the memo, people reacted like, 'Oh my gosh, I didn't know what it was, I threw it away,'" said Reed. "As usual there were a thousand stories about why they discarded it or misassumed what it was or wasn't."
The only option now for students who didn't mail a ballot but wish to vote is to drive to the elections office in Salinas and vote in person.
Chandra Ashford is one of the CSUMB students who was surprised at the news last week. Ashford, who lives in student-family housing, said she never received a ballot and planned to vote on campus. She was dismayed to find out that she also could not vote anywhere in Marina, where her daughter attends school, because campus residents are considered temporary residents.
"I don't consider myself a temporary resident at all," she said. "I've been a California resident all my life, and I'm a registered voter, so I should have a say."
Ashford said she'll drive to Salinas to vote, but predicted others won't and that their lost votes will hurt the effort to block the recall.
"I'm sure there are a lot of people who would vote if it was convenient, but will not drive into Salinas, so it's kind of disenfranchising," said the teledramatic arts and technology student. "Most of the people on campus I know are pretty liberal, so it's sort of not getting a lot of liberal votes in."
County Registrar of Voters Tony Anchundo said his office tried to make clear to voters who live outside precinct areas that they will have to vote by mail for the recall.
"We sent the absentee ballots out three weeks ago," he said.
"At this point, we suggest that if you still have the absentee ballot, you can vote and deliver it to any polling place. If not, you can come to our office to vote."
For the most part, precincts that were dissolved for the recall election were consolidated with other precincts, according to Assistant Registrar of Voters Junell Davidson.
"As a general rule, though, if there were less than 250 registered voters in a precinct we sent those voters absentee ballots," she said.
Reed said no one is pleased about the situation, though he was confident that the number of students and staff "who failed to follow instructions" is "nowhere near a majority of those on campus."
"Obviously, it wasn't our preference to have the polling place closed for the special election, or the preference of the county," he said, adding that the decision to convert precincts led to a legal challenge that was ultimately thrown out by the federal courts.
"It's a problem of some magnitude," he said, noting that there is typically a high voter turnout on the campus. "Any change in voting habits generally creates problems, because those who vote generally get into a pattern. We want to see civic involvement increase and not decrease because of some statistical anomaly."
He's hoping that students without transportation will make car-pooling arrangements with those who do and make the 10- to 15-minute drive to the elections office, 1370-B S. Main St.
|
|
|
|
|
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
Where do I begin?
Flipping college wimps, Maybe they don't deserve to vote.
I don't think that small college towns want the students to be considered residents of that town. They would be electing transvestites and farm animals to the city council.
Students vote in the elections of the towns where they come from by absentee ballot.
Let me see if I have this right.
College students can drive hours to a favorite watering hole, or to protest or to purchase their drugs, but...
It's too much of a bother to get to a polling place?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.