Issue 14

Page 1

September 14, 2016

Alison Lundergan Grimes visits campus

Volume CXXXVI Issue 14

Secretary of State begins tour about new online registration portal By WILLIAM THOMAS

Grimes launched the website in March, making Kentucky the 32nd state to allow Kentucky Secretary of State voter registration online. The Alison Lundergan Grimes vis- website also allows Kentuckiited campus Monday, Sept. 12, ans who are already registered in the Jones Hall Nelson Suite. to update their voter registraGeorgetown College was the tion information. first stop on Grimes’ multi– Dozens of students, facweek fall govoteky.com tour. ulty, staff, community memGrimes will visit five other bers and local elected officials institutions this fall. She vis- gathered to hear Grimes presited several colleges and uni- ent the website. As a part of versities in the spring. her presentation, she gave The tour is an initiative various statistics on voting in Grimes has taken on in order to Kentucky. promote the Commonwealth’s Making a nod to “Georgenew online voter registration town’s interactive classroom portal: govoteky.com. environment,” Grimes demonstrated with volunteers from the crowd that only about 70% of Kentuckians are registered to vote and significantly fewer actually take a trip to the The Georgetonian/LAURA CALLIHAN polls. Grimes involves GC students Shelby Beam, Grimes John Matherly, Skylar Vest and Shelby West in e x p l a i n e d her presentation. that though Features Editor

Inside

this issue

NASA to bring first sample from an asteroid to the earth page 2

Kentucky has an above average rate of voter registration, a number of Kentuckians might still be excluded from registering due to lack of accessibility. Previously, potential voters were required to fill out a physical copy of the voter registration card and turn it in by mail or in person. Now, voters can access their information and update it “with the click of a button,” Grimes said. She continued by saying that online registration brings more accuracy and efficiency in processing the registrations, which no longer will be vulnerable to mistakes in reading poor handwriting, for example. The system also requires those who use it to provide an online signature or transfer their signature from their drivers license, which will reduce the chance of fraud. Already, nearly 40,000 Kentuckians have registered to vote or updated their registration information through the new website. Grimes expects many more to register in the near future, especially with a major election cycle this year. Grimes also gave attendees the opportunity to make a

public service announcement encouraging their fellow community members to get out and register to vote. Afterwards, Grimes outlined her plans and hopes for the future in making voting more accessible to all Kentuckians. One main problem she noted is that early voting is not available for all Kentuckians who may need it. Currently, laws restrict early voting to a limited portion of the population. Grimes hopes that in the future, early voting will be available to all voters without excuse. Current laws, she says, make it impossible for some registered voters to make it to the polls. Such voters include those who work shifts spanning the entirety of the voting time, which is 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. For those voters, the right to vote is taken away by restrictive voting laws. In her presentation, she argued that Kentuckians need not have an excuse to go early to the polls and claimed that many opponents of such measures are county clerks who simply do not want to do the extra work.

Additionally, Grimes hopes to implement an electronic poll book system. Currently, voters hoping to vote must find their name in a large binder and sign their name before voting. The process can be longer than necessary and can cause lines, especially during the rush voting hours. Grimes said that new electronic poll books would simplify and speed up the voting process. She also stated that it would be significantly cheaper to operate electronically rather than in paper form. The system is being piloted in six counties this year with hopes that it will be implemented in all Kentucky counties by 2018. Kentuckians interested in registering online to vote or updating their voter registration information can visit govoteky.com to do so. Registration cards are also available at every county clerk’s office in the state. Students wishing to register in Kentucky do not have to be permanent residents because of their status as students in Kentucky. 10 students registered to vote at the event.

GC Volleyball defeats Bethel page 5

Featuring the chemistry and psychology departments pages 6, 7

Safe spaces are unhealthy page 11


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Issue 14 by The Georgetonian - Issuu