Columbia Voting Week and Voter Registration

October 01, 2014

Dear fellow members of the Columbia community,

October 10th is an important deadline for exercising your right to vote in New York’s upcoming election. If you have been a resident for at least 30 days, you are allowed to vote here, in New York County. In addition, every state makes provisions for absentee balloting, so if you prefer, you may choose to cast your ballots in your home states.

Should you choose to vote in New York State on November 4th, the voter registration forms must be completed and mailed out no later than Friday, October 10th. If you have not done so already, I encourage you to submit your registration forms or absentee ballots on time, and to remind your fellow students, friends, and family members to do the same.

This year, in order to bring attention to the election, democracy-related issues and general voting practices, the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), the Columbia Political Union (CPU), Student Engagement, and other partners, have organized Voting Week (October 6th through October 10th). For more on the project, including a schedule of events, please visit Voting Week.

Voting is central to any form of democratic government. I hope that Columbia students will do their part by voting on November 4th. For links to voter registration forms and other resources, please visit Columbia’s Office of Government and Community Affairs’ voter registration page.

Paper registration forms are also available in the Government and Community Affairs offices in Low Library rooms 302 and 309.

I encourage everyone to go to the polls in November.

Sincerely,

John Coatsworth
Provost