Students register to vote

With the presidential preference primary election approaching soon, there are many efforts on campus and in the Keene community to inform students about how and when they should vote if they are interested in doing so. On Thursday, January 23, Keene State faculty members, the City Clerk’s office and other campaigns and organizations joined forces in the student center to help students register to vote. If students missed this effort,  there are still other ways to register to vote. 

Program Manager for Academic Affairs Kim Schmidl-Gagne said that students can go to the City Clerk’s office in City Hall downtown during their business hours to register to vote. If students miss the deadline for pre-registration, which is February 1, then they can still register to vote on the day of the election.

According to an email sent to all students from the Office of the Provost, students should be prepared with proof of age, which could be a driver’s license or photo ID with date of birth on it, and proof of citizenship, which could be a birth certificate or passport and proof of domicile.  

“The day of the election you can register to vote. It’s all the same process in terms of what to bring for documents. We supply the City Clerk’s office with a list of everyone who lives on campus and they take that as the domicile. What students need to be prepared to do is verify citizenship and verify date of birth. We even have some off-campus students on the list we were able to provide. If you went to the off-campus student orientation, your name was on that list. If you weren’t able to attend the orientation, then you do need to provide proof of domicile and that can be an electric bill with your name or something along those lines,” Schmidl-Gagne said. 

The City Clerk’s office also plays a vital role when it comes to the voting process. Keene City Clerk Patty Little said they make sure that there is adequate staffing at the polling stations, help facilitate the voter registration drives in the student center and can also register students at the City Clerk’s office in City Hall.

“By law, [the City Clerk’s office] needs to stop taking registrations on Thursday, January 30,” Little said. “If a student wanted to come in [to register to vote] we need to have proof of ID, domicile, age and place of birth. We can facilitate that through a lot of different ways. If they’re on campus then we have that as proof of domicile, or [an individual] can sign an affidavit to prove domicile.”

Another organization at the voter registration event included NextGen New Hampshire, which is a coalition that aims to engage young people in the political process. Regional Organizer for the Monadnock region Christopher Roberge said NextGen attends events such as this one to help get students involved with the election cycle and keep them interested in what’s going on.

“We have students sign a commitment to vote. We also send out texts on election day, primary day and also, here in Keene, we support the students by providing shuttle buses from campus on election day,” Roberge said. “A bunch of students came to me today and asked different kinds of questions. I want to engage with the students and empower them to do things on their own as well.”

Press Secretary for NextGen Dan Bristol also said that they hope to make students more informed about politics so they feel secure when going to vote.

“I think when it comes to registering, our role is really just to make sure [the students] are excited and ready to do it,” Bristol said. “Many students are going to be voting in their first presidential election this year and so it’s important to make them ready for that and that really comes down to having the information you need and having access to the polls.”

Associate Director of the Student Center Mark Gempler is also involved with the American Democracy Project and with KSC Votes and was at the registration event.

“Five or six years ago we had organizations, campaigns, everyone on campus with great intentions, but everyone was trying to do their own thing. So last year we kind of created this coalition that brought everyone together to try and work in the same direction,” Gempler said. “Ultimately we all want to see people, specifically students, get registered to vote and that’s the most important part and that’s what KSC Votes is all about.”

The City Clerk reported that 72 people, mainly students, registered to vote while at the event, which is double the numbers they’ve had in the past. 

“It’s not just about going to the voting booth and pulling a lever, it’s knowing why and how you personally think about it,” Gempler said. 

Rachel Vitello can be contacted at

rvitello@kscequinox.com.