[temara.brown]

Elections Awareness - Vote Smart
BY CHRIS MARTIN (HUMANITIES SRA) AND TEMARA BROWN (SCIENCE SRA)

The time has come for Canada to once again engage in the process of putting up multicoloured signs (adorned with the names of people we don't really know that much about), yell at eachother on national television, and choose the lesser of several evils to be our next government. You guessed it: Its election time.

Your MSU is working overtime to ensure that you have the opportunity to make an informed vote on election day. We are at a pivotal moment in history as students. We face higher-than-ever costs, and the economy that supports our essential student-aid system has never been on shakier ground.

The four parties offer very different visions for Canada, and it is important that students make their voice heard. It is important to us that students vote smart.

To those not planning on voting:

-Parties recieve money for every vote: so even if your party doesn't win, you help them develop.

-You might not care about politics, but you probably do care about the issues. You might know someone in Afghanistan, be concerned about the environment, or you might just face student debt. This election will factor quite palpably into how these issues affect your lives.

-We live in a democracy. Its flawed for sure, but so far we haven't come up with a better system. Fullfill one of your only duties as citizens of this nation that affords you so many liberties.

-People who care get more action. Seriously. Lethargy definitely translates into your sex life.

Its a silly process, but its important to vote, and vote in an informed fashion.

An ALL-CANDIDATES DEBATE will be happening this Tuesday, September 23rd in MDCL 1309 at 6PM. Questions from the audience are encouraged! This is an excellent opportunity to work towards making a smart voting decision.

Your candidates:
Green - Peter Ormond - http://greenpartyhamilton.ca /
Liberal - Arlene Macfarlane-Vanderbeek - http://votearlene.com/
NDP - Gordan Guyatt - http://www.ndpadfw.ca/adfw-fed-election08/
Conservative - David Sweet - http://www.davidsweet.ca/home/

How to Register and Where to Vote
Living On-Campus?
Come to the student centre on the 23, 24, 25 to register or go to the polling station on election day and get checked off the list.

Living Off-Campus?
Come to the student centre on the 23rd, 24th, or 25th to register at one of the tables in the student center. All you need to bring is proof that you live in your student house such as a bill or a copy of your lease (probably the safest thing to bring).

Yaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!

sorry, What time will the debate start? end? Im unable to vote yet but Im interested to see a debate..

It's from 6-9PM

To be honest, the debate will more than likely end by 7:30 PM.

Also, **** yeah! Participatory democracy!

Since it's late and I don't feel like looking up all this info, I might as well ask it here:

- Even though McMaster is not my permanent residence, do I still vote in this riding?

- What the hell IS our riding?

also:

- Do we have to sign-up for the debate? or is it walk-in?

- From previous years, generally how long are the lines for voting? When's a good time to go? (I'm assuming the turnout will be massive, plus its all on one day!)

- Are there any statistics on how the McMaster population (students, teachers, w/e, but not incl. the rest of the people in the riding) have voted in the past? This seems like a pretty liberal/progressive place, but I'd like some actual stats if possible, just to satisfy my curiosity.

- Any after-parties to celebrate the democratic process?

To answer some of your questions, you can register to vote in this riding on the 23, 24, and 25th in the student centre. Just look for the Elections Canada booth. I believe the riding is Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale. Make sure you bring government-issued ID as well. Registering early save you time and possible long line-ups on voting day. (Which is October 14th!)

Can someone post a video of this debate if there is one? I had night class, plus I didn't know about it before. It would really be helpful.

Someone from the MSU was recording this so hopefully we can get access to it soon!

Some clips from the all candidates debate are now available on the MSU's website! YAY!

http://www.msumcmaster.ca/news/video...tBroadcast.htm

..I hope there'll be even more questions assembled like this. If there are, I'll post the links to them here again.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Since this is my first time voting, I wasn't too sure of the process. Didn't know we had a voting card, but got it from home.. and then didn't know that we had to register to vote in this area if we're not permanently residing in it. I thought we could vote anywhere and they would just use our permanent address to know which area to add the vote to. And now, it's obviously much too late to register for the mcmaster area since I'm offcampus...

Is there any way to still be able to vote?

Don't stress Duarch!
You can still vote in the McMaster riding!

This website has all the information you'll need for anything to do with today's election.

But in regards to what you need at the polling station, all you need is a student card and something that is proof that you live in your off-campus house (ie a copy of your lease, a bill that was mailed to you, etc), and to be safe, bring a drivers liscence or something..