Eligibility comes to American citizens residing in Alabama who are at least 18 years old and have not been disqualified by a felony or mental incapacity. Registration can be done in person at the Department of Motor Vehicles, Tuscaloosa Board of Registrars and other government agencies. It is also possible to register by mailing the Board of Registrars. The registration period for the upcoming elections ends Oct. 20.
To ease the registration process, several organizations handle voter registration drives.
The Alabama Voter Education and Registration Association is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization which focuses on getting more Alabamians involved in the electoral process. Trevin Fluker, a political science major and coordinator of AVERA in Tuscaloosa, talked about the importance of suffrage.
“Voting is the only real way we can have a voice in civil decisions, such as the placing of new amendments or political persons,” Fluker said. “At AVERA we strive to help people not only register but learn about the importance of voting in each election. Hopefully we can lead more Alabamians to have their own political ideas which they support.”
“Registering to vote is an important issue,” said Erin Minor, a freshman majoring in anthropology. “I believe that’s why many on-campus groups make it a major agenda during the lead-up to elections.”
Even though several on-campus organizations help the voter registration cause, the University does specifically hold a formal voter registration event.
“They don’t do anything to register people, all they did was send out one email,” said Johnathan Wilbert, a junior majoring in electrical engineering and a member of AVERA.
UA students from states other than Alabama can still register in Tuscaloosa to vote or cast an absentee ballot for their home state’s elections. Tuscaloosa County is sixth in the state for amount of registered voters with approximately 115,000.
Out of state students can find more information at longdistancevoter.org. For more general voting information go to alabamavotes.gov or call 334-242-7210.
