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When you cast your ballot this fall, you have an opportunity to change the
future of North Carolina. Competing for your vote will be the presidential
candidates, gubernatorial candidates and many other state and local candidates.
While every race is important, there's another issue on the ballot that
promises to have a much more lasting impact on our state: the higher education
bond referendum.
Citizens will have the opportunity to vote on a $3.1 billion bond issue for the
state's 16 public universities and 58 community colleges -- including nearly
$500 million earmarked specifically for this campus. The bonds would help us
keep the doors of educational opportunity open wide for North Carolinians by
ensuring that our public institutions of higher learning continue to educate
future leaders of this state, produce cures for deadly diseases, uncover new
technologies and make this state a better place to live and work.
At Carolina, the bond dollars would be a crucial first step as we seek to
repair the ravages of time and remain academically and scientifically
competitive. The money would help us renovate aging facilities, address a
growing backlog of repairs and build new, state-of-the-art facilities, in many
cases replacing ones that simply cannot be brought up to today's standards.
I hope each of you will take it upon yourself to become knowledgeable about the
referendum. Educate yourself, then educate others. For more information, check
out http://www.unc.edu/govrel
While early polls show support for the bonds, we must continue to tell our
story loudly and articulately. We must make sure our family, friends, neighbors
and others know about the importance of the bond referendum -- to our public
universities and community colleges and to every citizen who reaps the benefits
of these institutions. We need your help telling that story and educating the
electorate.
I also encourage you to make sure that you're registered to vote. Don't let the
Oct. 13 registration deadline pass you by. You can't make your opinion known if
you aren't registered to vote.
On campus, voter registration couldn't be easier. Carolina students are
competing with our rivals at N.C. State to see who can register the most
voters. (The winner will be announced at the State-Carolina game Oct. 14.) Look
for information around campus about the student registration drive or pick up
registration materials at sites including the Student Government office, the
Union desk, or Davis and House libraries.
Finally, as the Nov. 7 Election Day approaches, some things seem to never
change: candidates are speaking loudly from the stump, vying for your votes and
your dollars, political ads are filling the airwaves, and candidates are
debating each other.
But some things do change -- and for the better. This year, for the first time
in Orange County, voters have the opportunity to cast their ballot as early as
Oct. 16, when three absentee satellite polling sites open, including one on
campus in the Morehead Building's North Gallery.
While absentee voting isn't a new practice, this year's "no excuse" concept and
the satellite sites are. As the name implies, no excuse is necessary to vote
early. You don't have to explain that you'll be out of town or that your
Tuesday class schedule or office hours make getting to the polls impossible on
Nov. 7.
Instead, people on campus who live in Orange County and who have made up their
minds about election issues can simply go to the Morehead satellite site and
cast their vote at their convenience, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 16
through Nov. 3. No strings attached.
The legislature approved a provision for counties to create no-excuse absentee
voting sites during the recent session, and we owe a tremendous debt of
gratitude to our local legislative delegation, who were among the sponsors of
the legislation. Carolina students also have shown great leadership and
initiative in making the no excuse concept and satellite site on campus a
reality in response to the needs of their fellow students.
This fall, there's truly no excuse for not exercising your civic responsibility
-- on Nov. 7 or before. Get out and vote.
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