Voting guide by political science professor

As of Sept. 18, Minnesota polls are already accepting early and mail-in ballots. Even before the pandemic, the 2020 election was highly anticipated. With the added dimension of pandemic precautions, including mail-in-voting, even more questions have arisen. CSB/SJU Votes, a nonpartisan coalition, hopes to increase student voter turnout by 20 points from the 2018 midterm voter participation rate, when 50% of students voted.

The Record intends to provide thorough coverage of the election and its implications for students as well as our local coverage. Interviews with the political science department and both campus presidents will follow in coming issues. To begin our election coverage, CSB/SJU political science professor Jim Read wrote a guide for frequently asked election questions and important voter information ahead of the highly anticipated Nov. 3 election.

Read’s nonpartisan election guide follows below. The Record’s Editorial Board highly encourages all CSB/SJU students who are citizens of the United States to follow Read’s guide and participate in the very important upcoming elections for the presidency and numerous down-ballot offices.

I urge all CSB/SJU students who are U.S. citizens to vote in the 2020 elections – not only for President of the United States, but also elections for Congress, state legislature, school board, city council and more. Any of these elections could affect your life, or the lives of people you care about. I will discuss how to register, your choice whether to vote here or “back home,” where to vote, how to vote early, how to find out what will be on your ballot and how to find information about candidates. First, however, I will respond to excuses I’ve heard for not voting at all.

“My vote doesn’t matter.” Your vote expresses who you are, and what you care about. If who you are and what you care about matters, then your vote also matters. Furthermore, it is not unusual for state legislative and local elections to be decided by a very small number of votes. A few years back, a state legislative contest in St. Cloud was decided by 10 votes. Every vote matters.

“I’m not thrilled with any of the candidates.” Elections are not like a shopping mall where, if you don’t see exactly what you want, you can go home without buying anything. With elections, you will “get the product,” good or bad, whether you like it or not, and it will have a major impact on your future. The question is whether you will have a voice in that decision or let others make it for you.

“Our politics are so ugly and divisive now.” Yes, they are. But if you and others who don’t like the divisiveness decide not to vote, your dropping out will make it more divisive than before. If you want civility, you should use your votes to reward candidates who practice it and punish those who don’t. “I don’t know anything about the candidates.” You still have time to become informed. And if there are races you know nothing about, you can skip them. Your votes on other races will still be counted.

Who can vote? If you are a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old and have not been convicted of a felony, you can vote. (Persons convicted of a felony may have their right to vote suspended for a time; rules on this differ by state).

How do I register to vote? In Minnesota you can register to vote online at the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website or at the polling place on Election Day. Minnesota, unlike many other states, permits you to register on Election Day. This may be your best option if you haven’t registered by two weeks before the election because of mailing time. Bring your student I.D. and a government-issued photo ID. If you are a full-time college student resident on campus, you can choose either to declare the campus to be your residence and register and vote here (St. Joseph for CSB students, Collegeville for SJU students), or vote where your parents live. You cannot, of course, vote in both places in the same election. Voting here in St. Joseph or Collegeville may be your best option if you are not yet registered to vote. If you are registered back home, but have not yet requested an absentee ballot and your family residence is too far away for travel on Election Day, you have the option of updating your registration to St. Joseph or Collegeville and voting here. See the Secretary of State’s website for voting information for college students.

IMPORTANT: If you register to vote from a campus address, your RESIDENCE address is your dormitory name and room number, followed by St. Joseph, MN 56374 (for CSB) and Collegeville, MN 56321 (for SJU). Your MAILING address is your campus mailbox number, followed by either College of St. Benedict, 37 South College Ave, or St. John’s University, 2850 Abbey Plaza. Your registration will not be processed if you list your campus mailing address as your residence. A voting residence cannot be a mailbox too small to sleep in.

What will be on my ballot? You can see what will be on your ballot by going to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website. You enter your zip code (56374 for St. Joseph, 56321 for Collegeville). Then for “select your street” on the drop-down menu, you will see an alphabetized list that includes dormitory names along with street names. When you select your dormitory, you will call up a sample ballot of the candidates and races you will be voting on. In some races, there are hyperlinks to that candidate’s website.

How can I learn about the candidates? For the presidential candidates the information available is enormous, but
you should avoid highly partisan news sources and websites and seek a variety of perspectives. For U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Minnesota Senate and Minnesota House races, besides the candidates’ websites, you can turn up candidate profiles in news stories in the Star Tribune or the St. Cloud Times by electronically searching candidate names. Many candidates for state legislature, school board and city council will respond to phone calls, emails and Facebook messages from you, and they may be willing to meet you in person.

How can I vote early? Early voting has already begun in Minnesota. You can vote early in two different ways: by mail or in person at your county election office. If you are not yet registered to vote, or have not yet requested an absentee ballot, you might not have enough time left to vote by mail because there are several stages that require mailing back and forth. For Collegeville and St. Joseph, early voting in-person (and also in-person voter registration) takes place at the Auditor’s Office, Stearns County Administration Center, 705 Courthouse Square, St. Cloud, MN, 56303. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. If you are registered somewhere else in Minnesota and want to early-vote there, you can check the locations and hours for early voting on the Secretary of State’s website.

Where do I vote on election day? If you plan to vote in Minnesota, you can find your polling place on the Minnesota Secretary of State website.For CSB students living in the main part of campus (west of College Ave), your polling place on November 3 is Resurrection Lutheran Church, 610 County Road 2, St. Joseph, MN 56374. The church is across Highway 75, just north of the Lake Wobegon Trail. The college will be running shuttles to this polling place on Election Day. CSB students living east of College Ave vote at St. Joseph Government Center, 75 Callaway Street East, St. Joseph, MN 56374, which is just a block north of
Centennial Commons. SJU students living on campus vote at the Great Hall. (However, a small number of residences at the north end of Flynntown are located in Avon Township and vote at the Avon Township Hall, 16881 Queens Road, Avon, MN 56310. Check the “where do I vote” page on the Secretary of State’s website. If your dorm room is in Avon Township, you will need to drive to the polling place).

When are polls open on election day? In Minnesota, polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

What if I want to vote in a different state? The rules for registration and voting differ from state to state, often in very significant ways. Many states do not permit you to register on Election Day. And in many states, mail-in ballots have to be RECEIVED by Election Day, not just POSTMARKED by Election Day as in Minnesota. This means that if you live in another state and you wait too long, your ballot might arrive too late to be counted. If you want to vote in another state, you will need to check rules and procedures very soon. In some cases, especially if you are not yet registered, it may be already too late. You still have the option of registering and voting in Collegeville or St. Joseph.

Choosing our future. The 2020 elections will determine the direction and character of the United States for a long time to come. Don’t sit this one out. Exercise your constitutional right to vote.