Category: Mason Votes

AVOID the Lines: In person, voting available with extended hours in some counties (including this Saturday)

Dear Virginia Colleges and Universities,

Please share this information with your campuses to make voting as easy as…

1) Verify your Voter Registration

2) Confirm your polling place and vote early (ALL students qualify for absentee) to AVOID long lines and missing classes

3) Get informed – Check out these nonpartisan Presidential and Senate voting guides to help you make your decision

Due to certain county closures from Hurricane Sandy, there are extended voting hours in the following counties (including this SATURDAY):

Accomack extended hours include 8:30 – 12:30 and 1 – 7 pm Wednesday – Saturday.
Arlington extended hours include Wed. and Thursday 8-7, Friday 8-5 pm, and Saturday 8:30 – 5.
Fairfax County: Wed. – Fri. 8 am – 8 pm, Sat. 8 – 5 pm
Falls Church City: Wed. – Fri. 8:30 -7 and Sat. 9-7 pm
Fauquier County: Wed – Fri. 8 – 4:30 pm, Sat. 9 – 5 pm
Loudoun County: Wed. – Fri. 8 – 8:30 pm, Sat. 8 – 6 pm
Tazewell: Wed. – Fri 8:00 – 6:30, Sat 8 – 6 pm
Westmoreland: Wed – Sat, 8:30 am – 6:30 pm
Wise Counties: Wed – Fri 8:30 – 7 pm, Sat 9 – 7 pm
Gloucester County: Wed – Saturday from 8 am until 6 pm
Virginia Beach City: Wed – Friday 8 am – 7 pm and this Saturday, 8 am – 5 pm

From your friends at VA CEEP,
Virginia Campus Election Engagement Project
www.campuselectva.org
[email protected]
(863) 968-3159

Fairfax Poll Workers Still Needed

Are You Election Ready?

Check your Virginia voting registration status here: http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/Index.html

Election Day is fast approaching, it is important to come up with your voting plan for the election. Make sure to go to the Virginia Registration Lookup Tool to confirm that your registration information is correct. Check now before Election Day (Nov. 6, 2012). Make sure that you know where your polling location is and how you are going to get there. Polls are open in Virginia from 6:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 6.

If you are voting absentee in another Virginia locality, or outside Virginia, make sure that you know the application deadline. Applications in Virginia must be received by 5:00pm on Tuesday October 30.

As a reminder, student IDs are valid voter ID in Virginia, so make sure to bring your GMU student photo ID to the polls! If you have any questions or see that your information is incorrect, please contact the Fairfax County Office of Elections at 703-222-0776.

Can’t make it to the polls on Election Day?

In Virginia you can cast an absentee ballot either in person or by mail. Details are on the Virginia State Board of Elections site, http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/absenteevoting.html.

Here is a link to absentee voting locations in Fairfax Country, http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections/absentee.htm.

State of the Race – Who Will Win… Rescheduled

The Department of Public and International Affairs and the Middle East Studies Program

present

State of the Race:

Who Will Win the Presidential Election?

Tuesday, November 5th, 7:30pm

Johnson Center, Third Floor, George’s Restaurant

Featuring: Michael McDonald

George Mason University

Associate Professor, Public & International Affairs

This event is free & open to the public! Free pizza, too!

Professor Michael McDonald, George Mason University

U.Va.-GMU Poll Shows Tight Race for Virginia’s 13 Electoral Votes

A University of Virginia/George Mason University poll shows Mitt Romney with a slim 1 percentage point lead over President Barack Obama in Virginia.

The poll showed 46 percent of registered voters are supporting Mitt Romney with 45 percent supporting President Obama. The poll also found that 2 percent are still undecided and another 2 percent are backing another candidate. The poll surveyed 641 registered voters in Virginia and has a margin of error of plus or minus four.

In a statement, Thomas Guterbock provided more detailed information about the registered voters that were polled. Guterbock said, “Slightly less than three-quarters of the voters backing each candidate say their support is very strong, with a large majority of undecided voters unwilling to report leaning toward a particular candidate.”

Third party candidates such as Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein could have an affect on the final outcome.

Virginia has 13 Electoral College votes. President Obama won the state in the 2008. Mitt Romney hopes to turn the state red again. The state is very important to both men’s path to the all important 270 Electoral College number.

Obama Romney — Photo by | Dakota Cunningham C2M

Flash Lecture held at GMU on Higher Education Policy

GMU Student Govenrment held the first of a series of “Flash Lectures” on October 17, 2012. The flash lecture was a debate with an election spin to inform students more about issues. The debate featured Professor Bryan Caplan and Professor Steven Pearlstein who spoke on the question of “should government withdraw from and active role in providing and subsidizing higher education?”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKYvLYynVSM[/youtube]

598756_10151242020840027_1003958994_n — Flash Lecture held Oct. 17, 2012 sponsored by GMU Student Government

Student Reactions to Final Debate

Higher Education: Candidates Clash on Key Issue

Job creation, health care, and women’s rights seem to be hot topics of discussion this presidential election but rest assured, candidates have not forgotten about a key issue on every college students mind; higher education.

President Obama and Governor Romney both broadly support the expansion of higher education yet hold very different viewpoints on how it should be funded.

One of the biggest differences is that President Obama supports government intervention in the loan-giving process while Governor Romney supports private lending.

In the past 4 years, President Obama has doubled government funding for need-based federal Pell Grants. Mitt Romney’s policy states that he would curb funding for Pell Grants and focus on awarding grants to students who ‘need them the most.’

In 2010, President Obama signed the student reform act into law, which lowers the cost of federal student loans and permits students to repay their loans at low, fixed percentages for up to 20 years. Funding was cut from private lending so the Education Department now grants all federally backed loans. The Obama administration claims that cutting out private lenders will keep student costs low. The GOP platform, which Mitt Romney supports, calls for a repeal of this legislation.

Obama’s primary focus is to make college accessible and affordable for more Americans by continuing the award of Pell Grants and federal lending. Romney plans to refocus government attention on higher education reform by focusing on the success of students already in college. Romney claims that the inflation in tuition rates is due to federal intervention and that once the federal government removes itself from the lending process, tuition prices will stop rising.

Consider these substantially different education platforms when casting your ballot this November.

Third Party Presidential Debate Oct. 23

3rd Party Debate on Ora TV

Third Party Presidential Candidates Debate

3rd Party Candidates debate tonight (10/23/2012 9pm) on OraTV. Find out what the other 4 major candidates think and see them square off with one another.

http://www.ora.tv/ora2012/thirdparty

Here is the excerpt from Ora TV’s website about tonight’s debate:

Larry King, the host of Larry King Now on Ora TV, will serve as moderator for a special 2012 Presidential debate. This debate will take place on October 23 at 9:00pm EDT at the Hilton Chicago and streamed live on Ora TV.

Larry King, “I have interviewed every US President since Nixon, and lest people forget, I helped usher Ross Perot into the national conversation during the 1992 presidential contest. I appreciate the importance of providing a platform to those with real alternative visions for our country’s future.”

Tuesday Night Schedule
8:00 – 9:00 PM EST
Correspondent Roundtable discussion
Who: Josh Tolley, Thom Hartmann (Russia Today), Ben Swann (FOX)
What: Will focus on important presidential topics and interview the 3rd party presidential candidates, authors, celebrities, etc

9-10:30 PM EST
3rd Party Presidential Debate – Moderated by Larry King streamed live on Ora TV
Gary Johnson – Libertarian Party
Jill Stein – Green Party
Rocky Anderson – Justice Party
Virgil Goode – Constitution Party

rep_third_party_3 — 3rd Party Debate on Ora TV

Pre-debate Panel Discussion: The Obama Doctrine vs. The Romney Doctrine

Monday, October 22, Arlington Campus Debate Watch Program, 7:30pm, Founders Hall Auditorium.

The Debate Watch will include a panel discussion. The panelists will be:

Colin Dueck, Associate Professor in George Mason University’s Department of Public and International Affairs
Dr. Mark Gopin, Professor of World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, and the Director of the Center on World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (CRDC) at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (S-CAR)
Shane Smith,as moderator, Mason Votes Executive Editor

The topic of the discussion will be The Obama doctrine vs. The Romney doctrine of foreign policy.