It is nearly time to exert the civic muscle and cast a vote in the upcoming elections. Because many students are outside their own county, questions are arising about how to get their voices heard.

In Texas, early voting is set to begin Oct. 22 and ends Nov. 2. If someone is not registered in this county, they need not worry. Casting a ballot by mail in Texas began Sept. 7, and the deadline to have the ballot submitted is Oct. 30.

Policies vary from state to state on dates and deadlines for early voting and absentee voting. Information on how people from other states can vote through the mail and on important dates is available on the American Civil Liberties Union website, www.aclu.org.

There are several ways to acquire an absentee ballot. The first is absenteeballots.com, which allows you to fill out the form online regardless of state, and print it. After this, the form has to be mailed to the county where the voter is presently registered.

Voters can also request absentee ballots from their state’s secretary of state, which can be done online. Voters then print out the ballots, fill in the information and mail them to the respective county clerks.

Absentee voting represents a large part of the voting population. 

Grace Makuch, a freshman from Illinois, plans on absentee voting.

“I want to vote for local officials back home. I have more of an interest in Illinois politics as I have been more directly affected by them,” Makuch said.

The Student Government Association is hosting a debate between conservative and liberal students on Oct. 1. Voter registration will be available at the debate.

Voter registration is also available online, where voters can download a form from the Secretary of State’s website. The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming election is Oct. 9.

Voting booths will be available on campus in the Ragsdale lobby beginning Oct. 29 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.