As election season is right around the corner, Eastern students have several methods to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

Students have several options on where and when they can vote.

Early voting starts Feb. 8 at the Coles County Clerk’s Office from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the United Christian Church from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The two locations will be closed on Feb. 12 and 19 and will have reduced hours on March 16 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Early voting is also available on campus March 13-15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Bridge Lounge.

Students are able to register to vote online at https://ova.elections.il.gov/, at the Clerk’s Office or at the same time voting is available at the Bridge Lounge.

To vote, students must bring two forms of ID and proof of residency to register to vote. People can register March 13-15 at the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Bridge Lounge.

To vote in the upcoming elections, voters must:

• Be a U.S. citizen, specifically a resident of the state they are voting in;
• Be 18 years or older or 18 by the time of the following general election;
• Be a resident of the precinct that they will be voting at 30 days prior to Election Day;
• Lastly, they must not be registered to vote anywhere else. 

Coles County Clerk Julie Coe also explained the importance of voting in elections in general. 

“I think everyone should vote,” Coe said. “That is the only way for your voice to be heard.”  

Students are also eligible to serve as election judges on Election Day and must:

• Be a U.S. citizen, registered as a voter in Coles County;
• Be able to speak, read and write in English;
• Have good reputation and character;
• Not be a candidate for any office in the election, and not a precinct committee officer.

Each election judge is required to declare their preferred party so they can be assigned accordingly.

There are informal trainings to prepare someone to be an election judge that covers the duties and responsibilities of being a judge. Judges who have gone through the training and completed the test will receive $150 if they serve on Election Day.

Election judge training takes place Feb. 29 at the Lifespan Center in Charleston at the times 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. 

The News Staff  can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]