Election Day is a time where citizens exercise their right to vote for their preferred candidate to the position in power that they are running for. Before they do decide to vote, U.S. citizens have to be registered to vote granting them access to the polls. Election day will be held on Nov. 8. 

Recently, LMC hosted a Voter Registration Drive allowing students at LMC to register to vote and according to Teresea Archaga, Director of Student Life, eight students registered at the event. Luckily for everyone at LMC, if you couldn’t attend the event, it’s not too late to register. 

“You can register to vote or check your status on the California Secretary of State website,” said Archaga.

You can either register to vote through the website, mailing a voter registration form to your local election office, or even register at the election poll on Nov. 8. There are some requirements that the U.S. deems necessary for US citizens to vote. Those requirements include: you must be a U.S. citizen, must be over 18 by Nov. 8, must be a resident in the state you are voting in, can’t be serving prison time currently and you can’t be deemed mentally incompetent to vote by a court. 

Archaga also said that the community partners will be back on campus for the IMPACT Student Leadership Conference on Oct. 14 and they may set up another date for the drive soon after.

“It is extremely rare for a person to suggest anything other than a democracy. And yet, when it comes to the simple act of voting, an essential feature of democratic rule, which can be done easily by mail now, so many people opt out,” said Milton Clarke, LMC Political Science Teacher.

Ryan Hiscocks, Chair of the Social Science Department, has recommended a website where students can get more information if they are still confused about the whole voting process.

“The CA Secretary of State (Dr. Shirley Weber) website is a wealth of information for CA voters and the website https://www.calmatters.org has a midterm voting guide that is full of good and reliable information,” said Hiscocks. “Registered voters will also be sent voter guides that include candidate statements and other facts to help voters make sense of the elections taking place in our state.”

Voting is significant for American culture. According to Hiscocks, Students in general make up the largest demographic group in our country but they are the least likely groups to vote. For decades, their turnout rate was usually around 20%, but it jumped to around 30% in recent elections. Young voters are taking the opportunity to vote but it’s still at low rates.

“It is important to vote as there are many key elections on the ballot as well as initiatives that impact us all either directly or through our family, friends, and community,” said Archaga.

There are propositions added onto the ballots that need to be understood that could change your lifestyle. Most of the propositions are self-explanatory, but some of them need more research to be done about whether the right move would be to say yes or no. 

There was a proposition in 2018 that went onto ballot debating whether California would be divided into 3 states: California, Northern, and Southern California. This proposition would be removed from the ballot but it was still on the ballot for citizens to vote on.

“It is significant as an expression of appreciation and value for our structure of governance, it is a way to honor those millions who suffered violence, oppression, and discrimination,” said Hiscocks. “Fighting for their equal right to take part in our economic and political systems, it is a significant expression that you value your community and your place within its processes of decision-making which affect us all.”