Sept. 19 is Voter Registration Day and exercising your right to vote on Election Day is an important duty, too important to ignore or neglect. As Fordham people for others, we have a responsibility to be citizens engaged in the civic life of our local, state, and national communities. For those of you who have not yet registered to vote, let Fordham provide the start of your lifelong engagement.

If you are not registered to vote, you can register online at vote.org. You may also check your registration status, update your information if it has changed since your last registration, and request an absentee ballot if you are not going to be in your home state on Election Day. Note: If you need to update or correct your registration information (i.e., your name or address), simply fill out the voter registration form. To register to vote, you must

• be a United States citizen (either by birth or naturalization),
• meet your state’s residency requirements, and
• be at least 18 years old. Some states allow 17-year-olds to pre-register if they will be 18 before the general election; however, you must be 18 to vote.

Please know that if you plan on voting in this year’s general elections (non-presidential), which will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7, you must register to vote on or before the registration deadline of your home state. For example, if you are interested in voting for candidates running for office in New York state, the registration deadline is Oct. 28 for both online and paper applications. You may find each state’s registration deadline at vote.org’s voter registration deadline page.

Finally, it can be difficult to determine the positions of each candidate running for office. Please feel free to visit nonpartisan voter information sites such as Vote Smart, Vote 411, and Ballot Ready for more information on candidates, including their biographies, voting records, positions on issues, and contributions to their campaigns.

Participating in the democratic process is a privilege and responsibility we all share. Please be sure to register and vote on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Lesley A. Massiah-Arthur
Associate Vice President and Special Assistant to the President for Government Relations

Bill Colona
Assistant Vice President for Government Relations, Federal and Urban Affairs

Tom Dunne, vice president of administration at Fordham, said that the event took place through Fordham’s association with the African People Alliance, which has established ties between Fordham and African countries such as Togo and Ghana, both of which have substantial communities near the Rose Hill campus in the Bronx. The former first lady of Ghana, Nana Lordina Dramani Mahama, spoke at Fordham’s 2015 Commencement. 

“Ghanaians really are a wonderful, family-oriented, and entrepreneurial group that we always will welcome back to Fordham,” said Dunne. “I’ve talked at various Ghanaian gatherings and I always stress how important it is to continue to honor their culture and their religion, just as the Fordham family has. We started as immigrants not unlike them.”