The city of East Lansing will hold its general election Nov. 6, but time is almost out to register to vote.
The deadline is Oct. 9 to register for the election for the two available seats on the East Lansing City Council and a special millage election for improvements to Lansing Community College.
Voters will elect two council members from the remaining four candidates - whittled down from eight in the August primary. The candidates are Planning Commission Chairman Kevin Beard, Planning Commissioner Liz Harrow, Downtown Development Authority Chairman Vic Loomis and city council incumbent Bill Sharp.
“(Voter’s) can switch their registration from a different county or they can register to vote for the first time,” East Lansing City Clerk Sharon Reid said. “Also, if you’ve moved recently - across town or from somewhere else in the state - you have to change your voter registration address.”
Meghan Tappy has yet to register to vote in any county, but the criminal justice freshman is excited about registering as an East Lansing voter.
Tappy, who recently turned 18, considers it just another transition into her life as a college student and an adult.
“East Lansing is my home now,” she said. “I have to live here for the next four years, or more, and I should have a say in what goes on here.”
Potential voters can register in person from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the City Clerk’s Office, 410 Abbott Road. There will be extended hours Oct. 9 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can also register at any Secretary of State’s office during normal business hours or by a mailed registration form postmarked on or before the deadline.
Citizens can register to vote anytime during the year, but those registering after the Oct. 9 deadline cannot vote in this year’s November election.
Under an amendment to the Michigan Vehicle Code that took effect April 1, 2000, to vote in East Lansing, voters must reside in East Lansing, meaning the address on your driver’s license must match the one on your voter’s registration card.
That amendment weighed into Pat Ray’s decision to maintain his Berrien County voter registration.
“While I’m still in school I don’t see any reason to change, that’s where my hometown is,” the earth science junior said.
