With one month remaining before the 2012 elections, the Associated Student Government’s “Rock the Vote” campaign has officially started.

“We wanted to make civic consciousness and student involvement in the November election a front and foremost issue,” said ASG President Nathan Alonzo.

During each club rush leading up to the election, ASG representatives will be registering students to vote. At the first club rush, ASG was able to register 25 students, said Alonzo.

To get campus clubs interested, ASG senators recently established a voter drive competition involving various campus clubs competing to generate the most registrations.

The top three clubs on campus to register voters will receive a prize of $300, $200 and $100 respectively. Clubs can register students and non-students alike, and it is “anybody’s game,” said Alonzo.

In addition to registration drives, members of ASG are pushing to educate student voters. Scott Lay, president of the California Community College League will give a presentation in the Old Administration Building on Oct. 15.
“He’s going to be talking about the importance of the November election and providing information that he feels community college students, staff and the administration should know,” said Alonzo.

With regard to the election itself, students are encouraged to discover the privileges they hold as registered voters. There are alternatives to waiting in line at a designated polling station on Election Day.

Students can vote by mail well in advance of the election by submitting an absentee ballot. Postage fees for absentee ballot envelopes are pre-paid. To qualify, voters must have their absentee ballots postmarked no later than Nov. 6.

Another option is to exercise the convenience of the early voting system. FCC students and faculty members can cast their ballots in advance of the election at the downtown county elections office. The office is located at 2221 Kern St.

Citizens can cast their ballots at this location from Oct. 8 through Nov. 6. To avoid difficulties, voters should bring a state or government issued identification card.

Several parking spaces are reserved for the voting public and are free of charge. During this voting period, the county elections office will be open on Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the Saturday prior to Election Day, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Nationally, approximately one-third of voters cast their ballot prior to the day of the election. Doing so not only eliminates the burdensome time constraints attributed to voting on Election Day but also eases the strain for those who choose to wait in line to cast their ballot the traditional way.

In order to have an opportunity to vote during the upcoming presidential election, students must have their voter registration forms completed and postmarked by Oct. 22, two weeks prior to Election Day.

In California, registration is as simple as ever. For the first time, California is allowing voters to register online at the Secretary of State’s website.

The conditions for registering to vote include the requirement that students are citizens of the United States, residents of California, reach the age of 18 by Nov. 6, are not on probation for a felony and are not determined to be mentally incompetent.

To expand voter rolls, last week, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the right to register to vote on the day of an election. The rule goes into effect in 2014.

Those looking to register should know that the conditions for registering to vote, including that the person is a citizen of the U.S., a resident of California and is at least 18 years old by Nov. 6. The person should not be on probation or determined to be mentally incompetent.

With respect to voters with disabilities, the California Secretary of State website provides answers for information regarding their voting rights, an audio version of the voter information guide (available Oct. 8) and a video guide to voting that is described in American or Spanish sign languages.

By law, assigned polling stations are made to be excusable. Volunteers at polling stations are required to assist disabled voters to the fullest extent necessary.

For more information regarding online voter registration, voting policies, ballot initiatives and disabled services, visit the California Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.ca.gov/elections or call the county elections office at 559-488-3246.