If you attended St. Thomas last year you will notice a difference on campus. While there was an election campaign unfolding both years around this time, there will be no poll on campus for the upcoming federal election.
“We were disappointed when we heard that [there would be no poll on campus,]” said Jeffery Carlton, director of communications for STU. “The first thing we did was sit down with the president of the students union.”
Megan Thomson is the president of the STUSU; she says the union was made aware of Elections Canada’s decision before the writs were dropped.
“We were made aware of it around the middle of the summer,” said Thomson. “We were frustrated because I think everybody in the university community knows that it’s very, very difficult to mobilize young voters, and as the students’ union that is our number one priority.”
There will be two polling stations close to STU. One will be located at the SUB on the UNB campus, the other will be in the atrium of the NBCC campus. Carlton says the credit for this should partially go to the STUSU.
“[Elections Canada] had intended to do a poll at the Currie Centre, and one at NBCC. Now they’re doing one at NBCC, and at the SUB. So it’s certainly not an ideal situation, we prefer to see a poll on campus,” said Carlton. “But the students’ union took the lead on this, and were able to get Elections Canada to at least move the poll closer to our campus.”
Putting polls on campus is convenient for many students, but generally you can only vote there according to Elections Canada, “if you live on campus and consider your campus residence as your home.”
Luckily for other students, the poll at the SUB will be different.
“For this federal election the polling station on the UNB campus will be a polling station where students will be able to vote on election day for candidates running in their home riding,” said Thomson.
The federal election will be held on Monday, October 19. In order to vote you must present either a drivers licence or provincial ID, or two other forms of ID, one of which must have you address. If you live in residence you can ask your residence administrator for a letter of conformation of residence. For more information students can visit elections.ca.
