Are you registered to vote?
Start here: First Time Voter Checklist
Register to Vote in Massachusetts
Brenna Roberts, '21 wrote and published a comprehensive student voting guide in The Beacon, Merrimack College's Student Newspaper. Check it out here: Your Guide to Voting in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
The League of Women Voters Andover-North Andover, a local nonpartisan voter education resource, created this video especially for Merrimack students in the 2020 election year.
Still have questions? In the 20-21 school year, Political Science professor and Merrimack staff member Mary McHugh is offering support. Email her at mchughm@merrimack.edu.
If you have questions about sources in this guide or research in general, please reach out to mcquade@merrimack.edu or click on the "Email Me" button on the left side of this guide.
By law, you can register to vote in either location – NOT both! Many students feel more connected and know more about the candidates and issues in their hometowns, so they want to register and vote there. Some students want to be registered at their school location to be able to vote on candidates and issues that affect their school. The most important thing is that you DO vote.
If you are from Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada or Tennessee, and you did not register to vote in person, you may NOT vote by absentee ballot. Your states have additional identification laws that supersede HAVA identification requirements (see below).
Note: If you have a state-funded scholarship or a privately-funded scholarship designated for a local student, be sure to check the terms of your scholarship before registering to vote in your college community. You could lose your eligibility.
Check out this voter registration decisionmaking tool.
Report an election issue by calling:
Check out some of the following sources for 2020 election coverage. This list is not meant to be comprehensive, but rather a starting point.
Note: Keep in mind some sources may have a bias (liberal, conservative, etc.).
Google News pulls together articles from multiple news sources and publications. Can focus in on specific topics such as business, technology, science, and health.