No disrespect to Young Thug
By Josh Hughes
There is a line in a recent Young Thug song that goes “I’m rich so I don’t have to vote”. While I can appreciate many aspects of Thug’s poetic ramblings, I can assure you, as a “broke college student”, this lyric is blatantly wrong. Regardless of class or race or anything else that might impact one’s decision on whether to vote or not, the right answer is to vote!
While students at Western can easily get bogged down in academics, extracurriculars and extraneous social activities, it’s important to remember that all students have the agency and power to voice their say on relevant issues and governmental positions. Western Votes, a nonpartisan on-campus group, is here to help students with all their voting concerns or questions, making it even easier to vote and stay informed as a college student.
While on campus AS elections happen every spring quarter, Western Votes has nothing to do with Western’s internal governance and election cycle. Instead, their focus is on getting students politically involved at local, state and federal levels. If you’ve seen someone on campus this last week holding a clipboard and a pen, there’s a good chance that they’re a student rep of Western Votes trying to get students registered before the impending October 9 deadline.
Yes, October 9 is the online deadline for voter registration and address change for the general election cycle, giving students a mere week to get their act together and register! While the general election does not occur until November 7, state voters’ pamphlets start getting mailed out as soon as voter registration closes. If you’re lost on how to register or change your address, Western Votes can help. Their office is part of the REP (Representation & Engagement Programs), which can be found in VU 435, and there you can find help on how to register. Even easier, their website, http://as.wwu.edu/rep/, contains a big, bold face link on the homepage that takes you straight to where you can register to vote online.
Once you’ve registered to vote, there still lies the question of what to vote for. The biggest current topic in Whatcom County is the County Council elections, which will take place in the General Election on November 7. After the primaries last year, the candidates got waned down to what the final ballot will look like, which includes liberals Todd Donovan and Amy Glasser facing off for district 2, with Rebecca Boonstra and Tyler Byrd going up against each other in district 3. The final County Council seat will see Harry Robinson and Alicia Rule face off for the Blaine district.
For the Bellingham City Council position, notable Red Square Trump supporter and hate speech enthusiast Eric Bostrom will be running against incumbent councilmember Roxanne Murphy.
In addition to the City Council positions, this upcoming election will also include a vote for Port Commissioner and Water District Commissioner, both of which will have important impacts on the environment as well as involve relevant issues such as the low barrier shelter for the homeless, and the future of Bellingham International Airport and Blaine Harbor.
Though 2017 marks an off-cycle election year, local elections remain important in the day to day lives of citizens. Issues that city council members actively take part in deciding include making Bellingham an inclusive environment that welcomes and protects immigrants, exploring affordable housing solutions throughout the county, determining alternatives to incarceration, and keepin Whatcom Lake water clean. Additionally, County Council will have a say on the future of Cherry Point, which could still become an export corridor for crude oil and fracked gas.
These issues and more will become more relevant throughout the coming year, after election season has passed, so it’s important to get informed about the candidates before November 7. If you’ve yet to register, there’s still a week left, so go online or get in touch with Western Votes to make sure all your voting information is up to date.