By Bryant Thigpen
Riverbend News
With what some considers to be the greatest election in US history swiftly approaching, Lafayette Supervisor of Elections Travis Hart recently held a voter registration drive at Lafayette High School (LHS) to give eligible students a chance to register to vote. The registration drive was held on Tuesday, Sept. 22, beginning at 8 a.m.
The effort at LHS was held to recognize National Voter Registration Day, and the event helped 59 people to pre-register and register.
“It was a great day at LHS celebrating National Voter Registration Day. The students seemed to be excited about the upcoming election, especially those who will get to participate in the process for the first time,” Hart said. “This will be a historic election and I was glad to share with them the importance of exercising this very important right. I look forward to seeing them cast their vote for the very first time.”
The deadline to register to vote in the general election was Monday, Oct. 5, which is required by law to be 29 days prior to election day on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Although the deadline to register for this election has passed, one can still register to vote in future elections. To be eligible to register, one must be a citizen of the US; be a legal resident of Florida; be a legal resident of the county in which one seeks to be registered; be at least 16 years old to pre-register or at least 18 to register and vote; not be a person who has been adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to voting in Florida or any other state without having the right to vote restored; and not be a person convicted of a felony without having the right to vote restored.