President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

Vote!

October 7, 2020

Tags Public Statements

Dear Members the Hamilton Community,

This week, Oct. 5-9, is National Voter Education Week, so it seems an appropriate time to send a reminder about the importance of voting.

HamVotes, a non-partisan student group established in 2017, is working to increase voter education, voter registration, and ballot access. You can learn more on the HamVotes website and by following HamVotes on Instagram. HamVotes is also organizing Hamilton’s participation in the NESCAC All-In Challenge, an effort to increase voter turnout among all 11 NESCAC campuses in the 2020 general election. You can learn more about the 2020 election at Impact Change USA, a website co-developed by Chris Harrison ’23, and you may be interested in a YouTube video performed and produced by the cast of Hamilton, titled “Hamilton X When We All Vote.”

To help ensure every Hamilton community member eligible to vote can do so, HamVotes is providing:

• Local Ballot Courier Service and Free Stamps for Mail-in and Absentee Ballots
  Students are invited to bring their completed ballots to the HamVotes ballot box at the Sadove Information Desk from now until Election Day. HamVotes faculty advisors will hand-deliver ballots for those voting in Oneida County to the Oneida County Board of Elections, and arrangements have been made to take ballots for other counties and states to the Mail Center to be stamped and mailed.
   
• Early Voting and Election Day Transportation
  Transportation will be available on Saturday, Oct. 31, and Sunday, Nov. 1, for early voting at the New Hartford Town Hall and on Election Day (Nov. 3) at the Kirkland Municipal Building on Route 12B. This is an exception to our policy on off-campus travel, and we are asking everyone to use College-provided transportation. The shuttle schedule for voting locally will be available soon.

I’m grateful to the members of HamVotes for organizing this campaign, and I’m pleased to join them in encouraging all in our community to exercise your right to vote.

David