When the Political Science club held its weekly meeting in Ruby Jones Hall on Tuesday, March 31, the group hosted Chris and Trish James, a married couple who volunteer for Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaign. Both recent graduates of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the Jameses came to West Chester to encourage participation in the election process, stating, “We don’t care who you vote for; we just want you to vote.” The couple agreed that young Americans are under-represented in the political process because many college students are not informed of voting procedures and not interested in the issues.
The Pennsylvania primary held on Sunday, Apr. 4 was insignificant because the incumbent President Bush ran unopposed among Republicans, and Senator Kerry had already secured enough delegates from other states to clinch the Democratic nomination. Kerry’s campaign had a Pennsylvania office in Pittsburgh, run by volunteers, but its work was put on hold as the Massachusetts law-maker emerged from the field of Democratic candidates as Bush’s challenger in the general election this November.
Pennsylvania is a poten-tial swing state in that race, and Jameses want to reach as many potential voters as possible. They informed the club that voters must register in the county in which they intend to cast their ballot before Oct. 10, 30 days prior to election day. Anyone with an address in West Chester, including students living in the residence halls, has the right to vote in Chester County. The office of Voter Services, at 601 Westtown Road, freely distributes registration forms.
Many students run into trouble, said the Jameses, by registering in their home county without realizing this allows them to vote in that county only. While these students are free to change their registration to Chester County any time before Oct. 10, they also have the option of filing an absentee ballot, which allows voters to send their ballots through the mail. Absentee ballots must be obtained through the county in which the voter is registered, and must be received by that county’s election board between September 20 and November 17.
The Jameses said they support Kerry because they believe he will allow more people access to higher education by protecting the Federal Work Study program, which pays college tuition in exchange for two years of community service. They touted Kerry’s stance on civil rights, saying he will advocate affirmative action and strongly prosecute hate crimes. They also support Kerry’s stance on the environment, citing his pledges to improve relations with OPEC and enforce tougher smog standards.
The Jameses are looking for other volunteers to campaign for Kerry and register new voters. They said the best way to get a paying job on a campaign is to begin as a volunteer, and said to look for opportunities on www.johnkerry.com.