Community Invited to Attend SVSU Virtual Session on 2020 Election Voting Processes

Saginaw Valley State University’s political science department will host a Zoom-based virtual presentation detailing the voting process in the 2020 presidential election Monday, Sept. 14, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Jesse Donahue, a professor of political science at SVSU, will be joined by representatives from the Saginaw County Clerk’s Office, the Bay City Clerk’s Office and the Midland County Clerk’s Office to discuss the voting process in the upcoming election. The panel will be covering information about voting in the Great Lakes Bay Region, focusing on topics such as mail-in ballots, polling places, ballot drop boxes and important election dates.

Donahue was inspired to create the presentation after helping friends understand the voting process.

“There is a lot of misinformation among the voting public about elections right now,” she said. “Some people don’t completely understand how mail-in voting will work, the differences between an application and actual ballot, fears about their ballots being destroyed or thrown out, and deadlines. I want to host a factual presentation about all of this.”

Riley Hupfer, director of SVSU’s Center for Community Engagement, is helping publicize the event.

“With changes to the laws in recent years and voting already being a complex process, it’s always helpful to hear from the experts and ask specific questions,” he said.

The public is invited to attend the virtual session Monday. Interested participants can join the meeting on Zoom using three different methods:

In a web browser, enter the URL address https://zoom.us/j/5998573121?pwd=VXZLTzZEUWdvdmx3Y09la3NzdkFZZz09
Or go to Zoom and enter the meeting ID “599 857 3121” and password “svsu”
Or call in to the meeting via telephone (audio available only). Find your local number using https://zoom.us/u/ap0o9ya1X, call that number, use the meeting ID “599 857 3121,” and enter the passcode “516704”

SVSU’s Center for Community Engagement has helped spread voting information to the campus community in recent years, earning national recognition as a “Voter Friendly Campus.” The Cardinals Vote initiative, based in the Center for Community Engagement, helped double SVSU student election participation from 2014 to 2018.

Hupfer said the center hopes to offer table sits and transportation on election day this year if it is safe to do so.

“In the meantime, we’re working to develop short videos that will be specific to SVSU students and can help walk them through the processes of voter registration, absentee voting/vote by mail and voting on election day,” he said.