GW Votes Returns

Because GW is located in the hub of American politics, it is no surprise that so many students here are interested in the upcoming elections. Some attend rallies, some help with campaigns, and another group of students have found a totally different way to get involved.

The Student Association has launched GW Votes, a website dedicated to making sure students who are away from home vote in the upcoming election. The website makes it easy for students to apply for absentee ballots.

GW votes isn't new to to the campus. In 2004, the initiative helped to register the majority of students to vote and about 85% get absentee ballots. Since the majority of the GW student body lives on campus and will not be able to vote in their home state in 2008, the SA feels that this is an extremely helpful and necessary initiative and that's why they decided to bring it back this year.

Although the site is intended for the general election in November, SA executive vice president Brand Kroeger said that this year, they've already had success.

"We've been very successful actually in registering students for their primaries. We've had over 225 students come to us and say we have all this information, we want to get registered for the primaries, and we said, 'Hot dog!'"

Upon arriving to the website, the student is greeted with a patriotic interface that prompts for some basic information. The student can print out their states voter registration or absentee ballot request. If you take the form to the SA office, Marvin Center room 424, the correct address, envelope and even postage is provided.

Chloe Lew, the sophomore director of GWVotes, recently told the Daily Colonial that "I believe most students want to register to vote and do vote, but the process can sometimes seem daunting or time consuming, so the Student Association has taken it on again to help students. It doesn't matter if you are a democrat, a republican, independent, or even politically savvy; GWVotes is for every student no matter what state they are from and no matter what they believe."

Kroeger couldn't agree more with Lew. "Voting is very important and if the SA can mount a small campaign to get people registered, we're more than happy to do it."

- Julie Hyman