Prospective voters can go to indianavoters.in.gov to register online or register in person at the Monroe County Voter Registration office at 401 West Seventh St., Suite 100.
IU Dean of Students Harold “Pete” Goldsmith said he wants students to get involved in the election.
“I would hope that they would register and they would learn about the issues and that they would become involved in politics and help shape their destinies,” Goldsmith said.
Voter turnout for midterm elections, like the one coming up Nov. 4, has historically been significantly lower than for presidential ?elections.
Presidential elections generally see a bigger turnout of voters, according to research from the last ?election.
Fifty-four percent of voting-age citizens cast a ballot in 2012, the year in which President Obama was reelected, according to the Pew Research Center.
This is compared to 37 percent in the midterms two years prior.
That’s a 17-percent ?difference.
Furthermore, people aged 18 to 29 are also far less likely to participate in government than older voters, according to a study by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
Goldsmith said voting is “one of the most important opportunities they have to shape their futures,” but students aren’t voting in the numbers they should be.
In the 2012 election, 41.1 percent of this age group in Indiana cast a ballot, compared to 63.8 percent of everyone else, aged 30 and older, according to the CIRCLE study.
Out-of-state students at IU don’t need to worry about missing out on participating in their state’s election just because they’re away from home.
Students that are not from Indiana should check their home state’s voting registration deadline, register, then request an absentee ballot to be submitted by mail.
Despite the fact that this is not a presidential election year, Congressional elections and state-wide races will be among races available on Indiana ballots this fall.
The Republicans currently hold the House of Representatives with 233 members versus 199 Democrats.
The Democrats currently hold the Senate, with 53 members, a slight majority over the 45 Republicans currently occupying seats.
Since the term length for a representative is two years, all U.S. House positions are up for election at every midterm, and more than 30 seats are up for grabs in the Senate this year.
Ruth Hickman, Monroe County election supervisor, said she thinks everyone should participate in ?elections.
“I don’t think there’s any reason that a person should not get involved and should not be aware of how government affects their daily life,” she said.
Hickman said even though all of the information about political candidates is available, it does take some “homework” to sort through it all.
Hoosiers have opportunities to learn more about candidates to vote for in order to make an informed decision at the voting booth.
Among these options are candidate forums, which are hosted by the League of Women Voters Bloomington and Monroe County. They are also aired by the Monroe County Public Library’s Community Access Television Services.
“You’re young but you can start anytime on getting yourself educated on how the local government can affect your life,” Hickman said.
