The state of Tennessee is holding a statewide election Nov. 7, but to vote, every Tennessean first needs to register by Oct. 7.
To encourage more students to register and vote, Hodges Library has teamed up with the Howard Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy in a week-long event titled “Vote for Your Future Campaign.”
As part of the event, the organizers will hold an hour-long seminar called “Election 2006: Campaign to Capitol” on Oct. 5 at 12:30 p.m. in Room 128 of Hodges Library. The event’s purpose is to make students more familiar with midterm elections, candidates, public policy issues, campaign finances and opinion polls.
Jane Row, a social sciences librarian and coordinator, will open the information session.
Nissa Dahlin-Brown, assistant director of the Baker Center, said the seminar will help students understand the importance of the upcoming election.
“We have had great support from the NAACP, SGA, URHC, UT Libraries and ITC,” Brown said. “The seminar that Jane Row is doing at the library is great. She will take attendees to various Web sites that look in depth at the issues, the candidates and their voting records. She also looks at who (and) what funds their campaigns.”
Brown said it’s essential for every UT member to become an educated voter.
“Our point in wanting Jane to offer this seminar is so students, staff and faculty can educate themselves about the candidates by doing their own research and then going to the polls to vote for whomever they feel is the best candidate,” Brown said.
Row said students should take advantage of the many information resources available to them at the university.
“It is an opportunity to talk about resources that might be useful and help students become more informed about voting and the issues,” she said. “We will be discussing some Web sites that are free, resources here in the library, stuff about the candidates and the importance of a midterm election.”
Row said the midterm elections are important because this is the time when most states elect government officials such as congressmen, senators and governors. The Tennessee midterm ballot contains one contested for each: the Senate and the governor seat, as well as four contested seats in the House of Representatives.
The most controversial vote is the one for the Senate between Democrat Harold Ford, Jr. and Republican Bob Corker. A senator holds a six-year term with no term limit, while a governor holds a four-year term limited to two consecutive terms. The November election will determine which party will dominate Congress and therefore Tennessee’s role in implementing public policy for the next few years.
“I think we are facing some pretty serious policy issues, and the midterm elections are going to impact what happens in American public policy,” Row said. “How people vote will make a difference. And where you find this information is important to make sure you’re voting for the candidate that supports the issues you want.”
Potential voters can come to the library seminars to find all the voting information they need. The direction of the seminar will be based upon the questions and interests of the attending students. Row is ready to discuss any information voters may have a question about — from absentee ballot voter registration to particular candidate information and where more sources can be located.
“If people want to share information and sources, that’s fine too,” she said. “This is a series of finding ways for students to become better users of information resources.”
The seminar is free and open to students, faculty, staff and the general public. Similar seminars will take place on Oct. 17 and Oct. 18 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., respectively. Students can register for these events through the Hodges Library workshop page at http://www.lib.utk.edu/instruction/workshop.
